Forget Me
by KawaiiGaara
Summary: Bella and Jacob try to lead normal lives after the trauma of their past. When Edward escapes prison and returns with a vendetta, what are they to do when their world is thrown upside down and their family is threatened?
1. My Baby

Chapter 1

 _With no words at all,_

 _So tiny and small,_

 _In love I fall,_

 _So deep._

 _~My Baby-Britney Spears_

The sky clouded over as it had millions of times, and began to sprinkle delicate rain over the already saturated earth. It was only a prelude as the weather reports indicated a severe thunderstorm would be wreaking havoc over the city of Forks, Washington. Everyone who lived in Forks for longer than a year understood the weather and always prepared for the rain even on a rare sunny day.

Isabella, or more commonly called Bella, hurried through the rainy streets quickly. Her shoulder length brown hair was becoming saturated by the rain that hat turned from a drizzle to a moderate rainshower. The woman was probably the only person in the entire state to own a jacket without a hood. Bella was really kicking herself internally as she'd left her umbrella in her apartment when she was rushing out that morning. Then to make matters worse, her car wouldn't start so she had to call a tow truck, then take the bus back home. Luckily the bus dropped her off at the end of her street.

Once the brunette had reached her apartment, she hurried inside to the lobby. The old brick apartment housed four tenants including Bella and her family. There were only two floors, the first belonging to a kind elderly woman and her husband. They were rarely seen outside of their apartment but whenever they ran into Bella, they always greeted her jovially. The other apartment on the first floor belonged to Alice, a woman who happened to be around Bella's age and her coworker. On the second floor, above the elderly couple lived an abrasive older gentleman named Caius. Every time Bella or her family made the tiniest noise, he was complaining.

The rain soaked woman walked up the short flight of stairs, dripping water everywhere as she ascended to her floor. Upon reaching her door, she quickly unlocked it, simultaneously glancing at Caius's door. She didn't like to admit it, but the man creeped her out. Luckily, he didn't harass her and soon she was in the comfort of her own home, locking the door behind her swiftly.

"Mommy!" a high pitched voice screamed. Before Bella could react, a small body had hurled itself at her body and tiny arms wrapped around her legs. "Mommy mommy! You're home!"

Bella released a soft laugh and bent over to pick up her daughter. In just four short years the young child had grown so fast. Her hair matched Bella's with it's chocolate tresses and it hung down the child's back daintily. Big brown eyes stared into Bella's and she couldn't help marveling at her daughter. She could see traces of her husband, Jacob, in her daughter's face and yet people always said she was the spitting image of Bella. The main difference most people could see between mother and child was skin tone. While Bella was as pale as fresh snow, her daughter had sun-kissed skin she inherited from her father's Quileutes genes.

"Hi Renesmee." Bella leaned forward and kissed the child on her forehead, receiving a happy giggle. "How was school honey?"

While Renesmee animatedly recalled school, Bella smiled and nodded along with her daughter's story. She couldn't believe how fast time seemed to move. It seemed like only yesterday she was pregnant and telling Jacob that he was going to be a father. They had married three months into Bella's pregnancy and once the sex of the baby was determined, Bella and Jacob played around with names. At the time, Bella was obsessed with a vampire movie where the daughter of a vampire couple was named Renesmee. Bella had fallen in love with the name and after convincing Jacob that it was a fun name, they had agreed and named their child Renesmee Sarah Black. Her middle name was given to her because that was Jacob's deceased mom's name and Bella wanted to keep the name in the family.

"Mommy are you listening?" Renesmee pouted at her mother and crossed her arms.

Bella set her child back down on the floor. "I did honey. Where is your father?"

Renesmee pointed towards the back of the apartment. "He's taking a nap!" Renesmee grew bored with the conversation and returned to her previous activities which involved toy cars and a couple barbie dolls that happened to be scattered all over the living room floor.

The apartment the Blacks lived in was of average size. It came with a spacious living room, small dining room that attached to the kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom at the end of the hall. A few years ago Bella and Jacob were involved in a huge scandal that had both of their lives in danger. Bella rarely liked to think about it as it brought her extreme anxiety and sometimes induced a panic attack.

In the beginning, before Bella had met Jacob, she dated a man named Edward Cullen who owned a company. At first their relationship was picture perfect. But slowly Edward began to show his true, abusive, colors. Bella escaped with the help of some friends but through a boating accident, lost her memories. Jacob found her, helped her get her memories back and fell in love with her. Unfortunately Edward found her and threatened to kill her if she didn't marry him so she obliged. But at the wedding, Jacob professed his love for Bella and ended up breaking up the ceremony. This infuriated Edward who then tried to kill Jacob, failing and resulted in him being sent to prison for attempted murder. The company Edward worked for didn't want Bella or Jacob to sue them so they sent them a check with numerous zeros. Years later, most of the money gone and for various reasons. Bella and Jacob gave most of it away as it only reminded them of what happened in the past. They also set aside some money for their daughter's college fund and the last of the money went into buying them each a new car and an apartment with all the furnishings.

Bella walked through the kitchen and was hit with the pungent aroma of garlic that had her side-eying the stove only to find a giant pot filled with what could only be spaghetti. Very garlic-y spaghetti. Spaghetti was one of the only dishes Jacob knew how to make perfectly. Bella continued through the kitchen and entered her bedroom only to find her husband asleep on top of their queen sized bed, the television was on but the volume was low. Before Jacob had fallen asleep he had been watching some animal documentary about lions and Bella briefly watched a lioness attack a gazelle. Their only window was open and letting in the falling rain. Bella groaned and rushed to it, shutting it quickly. The sound awoke Jacob who sat up in bed then rested his back against the headboard. "Bella?" he called out groggily while wiping sleep from his eyes.

His wife stood at the foot of the bed with a slight frown creasing her lips. "Jake, you know better than to leave the window open. We don't want to flood our room."

Jacob crawled to the edge of the bed, then stood on his knees to be eye level with his wife. "I'm sorry Bella." he kissed her softly, causing her frown to dispel into a soft smile. "You know I can be forgetful sometimes." he whispered against her lips. "I love you, Isabella."

A delicate blush crept upon Bella's face and she turned away from her husband, feeling flustered. "I love you too Jacob. Just try not to forget next time, okay?"

The house phone located in the living room began to ring at the same time as someone began knocking incessantly on the front door. Jacob and Bella exchanged looks before both exiting the bedroom. "I'll get the phone." Jacob muttered, stepping over their daughter to pluck the phone from his holster. "Why do we even have this? It's 2015 for pete's sake." He threw Bella a funny face before answering.

Meanwhile Bella answered the door and was immediately faced with a black pixie cut. "Alice? What are you doing here?"

The thin girl who beat Bella in the pale department, stared up at her with wide-eyes. "We have a problem!"

 **A/N: Hi everyone! Forget Me is the sequel to my other story, Remember Me. This is a stand-alone sequel so you can still enjoy this story regardless of whether you read Remember Me. With that out of the way, I will try my best update every week (at least for a few weeks). Also updates will be on Mondays. I hope everyone enjoys this story as it's meant for pure entertainment purposes. Happy reading!~**


	2. Cups

Chapter 2

 _I've got my ticket for the long way 'round._

 _The one with the prettiest of views._

 _It's got mountains, it's got rivers,_

 _It's got sights to give you shivers,_

 _But it sure would be prettier with you._

 _~Cups- Anna Kendrick_

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, immediately going into red alert.

Alice didn't get a chance to explain. The man who lived across from Bella, opened his door and growled at the pair. "Will you keep it down?!" he narrowed his eyes. "Some of us are trying to _sleep_!"

The pixie haired woman whirled around and smirked. "Caius, why don't you put a sock in it? It's only 6 o'clock _old man._ Go harass people who care."

Caius glared at Alice but retreated inside of his apartment and slammed the door shut. Bella tried to stifle her laughter at what transpired and invited Alice inside to see what was going on. Once the short girl had entered the apartment, Bella closed and locked the door. Since Jacob was on the phone and Renesmee was playing on the floor, Bella lead the way into the kitchen where Alice promptly sat on a stool at the island. "Is that Jacob's spaghetti?"

Bella already knew that Alice was going to ask for some, so she grabbed a plate and loaded it with spaghetti. Sticking a fork inside, she slid the plate across the island until it was across from Alice who looked delighted. "Now tell me, what's the problem?" Bella knew that with Alice, this problem could be anything from something as minor as finding a gray hair or as major as being fired from work.

Alice tore into the spaghetti, diminishing it by half in less than two minutes. "I took your advice and went on a date with that guy from tinder." Alice looked into Bella's inquirous face and shuddered. "He was a complete psychopath!"

Renesmee looked up from her toys at her mom and the lady from downstairs. "Mom what's sigh-cool-pat mean?"

Bella glanced over at her daughter in mild embarrassment. "It means crazy."

Renesmee looked satisfied with the answer and returned to her toys.

Bella lowered her voice then returned to her conversation with Alice. "What did he do?"

By now, Alice had finished the plate of spaghetti and pushed it to the side. "Well he took me to 'It's Greek To You' for starters."

"I thought you hated Greek food?" Bella cocked her head to the side in contemplation.

Alice made a look of horror. "He _loves_ the stuff! He bought us a sample platter to share. It contained numerous dishes. I had to eat _hummus_." Alice gagged and clenched her fists that were resting on the island. "The food wasn't even the worst part!"

Intrigued, Bella asked "What was the worst part?"

The young woman stared into her friend's eyes without breaking eye contact. "He still lives with his mother."

Bella could not contain the laughter that erupted from her mouth. "Wait," she wheezed. "What? How old is he?"

"35." Alice responded curtly. "A little older than I like 'em. But I thought, why not give it a try. And with your encouragement I thought he'd be great." Alice shot Bella a scolding look.

"Oh no you don't." Bella finished laughing and tried to make a stoic face. "Don't blame me for his mommy issues. I only said to go out with one of your tinder dates."

Alice visibly deflated. "I know. At this rate I'll never find my soulmate. I'm nearly 30 myself."

Bella scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. " Mary Alice Brandon, you are only 27. Stop that."

Alice shuddered and threw Bella an indignant look. "You know I hate that name. I should legally drop the Mary. Alice is better."

"I think you're name is great." Bella leaned over the island to pat Alice on the shoulder. "So he loves Greek food, is 35 and still lives at home...anything else about him you don't like?"

The woman in question crossed her arms and pouted cutely. "His taste in music is questionable."

"What kind of music does he like?"

Alice looked Bella dead in the eyes and whispered, "Folk Music." Bella could not contain the laughter that erupted from her mouth. Alice narrowed her eyes at her friend. "It's not funny. Who the hell likes folk music?!"

Bella leaned over and covered Alice's mouth. "Hey, Renesmee can hear you. Don't cuss so loudly." While Bella loved her apartment, she didn't like the layout. The kitchen and dining room were essentially one room and only blocked off from the living room by a bunch of half-walls. So anything being said in the kitchen at normal volume, could be heard in the living room and vice versa. Sometimes it came in handy when Bella wanted to keep an eye on Renesmee, but most of the time it annoyed her.

Luckily for Bella, her daughter was too absorbed in her toys to have heard Alice's slipup. "Sorry Bella. I forget you have offspring." Alice took a peek behind her, through one of the half-wall and spotted Renesmee having a great time with her toys. "It must be nice."

"Having kids can be a wonderful experience. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll have them one day too." Bella reassured her friend.

Alice whipped around and looked at Bella peculiarly. "No, I meant it must be nice to have someone to make you spaghetti." She peered around Bella at the pot of spaghetti. "I may be 27 but I eat like a high school boy on the football team."

A light laugh was given to Alice as Jacob entered the kitchen and kissed his wife's cheek upon entry. "If you want to you can take a plate home."

Alice slid over the plate she had consumed the spaghetti from. "No takesies-backsies. Pile it on Jacob."

Jacob took the plate and dumped spaghetti on top, when he showed Alice how much was on there, she pursed her lips so he added more until a small mound had formed. She seemed satisfied with the amount so he then covered it in aluminum foil. "Oh Jacob, who was that on the phone?" Bella asked while he gave the plate to Alice.

Jacob sighed and Alice took the plate before hopping off of the stool. "I'm going to go, because this seems serious. See you tomorrow at work Bella." Alice exited the apartment, making sure to slam the door which Bella suspected she did to annoy Caius who no doubt was likely to be lurking around in his own apartment.

"You okay Jake?" Bella became concerned when her husband ran a hand through his short hair in exasperation. "Who called?"

"My boss called." Jacob rested his forehead against Bella's and sighed.

Jacob worked at the local retail store Filmores. Filmores sold everything from food to clothes and even toiletries. It was the most popular store in the city, and also happened to be one of the biggest. Jacob had worked there for the past four years and had moved up in rank from sales associate, to manager to supervisor. Becoming a supervisor included a great promotion but a lot of responsibility with corporate now weighed down on his shoulders. Recently the store had been encountering numerous issues that Jacob found to be stressful.

"Apparently they're opening a new Filmores in South Carolina." Jacob paused, seeing the look of confusion on Bella's face. "They want me to supervise there for a few days next week to help hire people and get the store started."

"South Carolina?" Bella quickly ran through in her head how far away that state was from Washington. She hated the thought of being away from her husband for so long. "What did you tell them?"

"Well they're only asking. They're not forcing me to fly down there. So I told them to give me a day or two to think about it as I need to talk with my wife first." Jacob sent her a half smile. "They'd pay for my airfare and I'd get a stipend of five thousand dollars."

Bella was taken aback by the amount. "Wow that's a lot of money for just a few days."

Jacob agreed and slipped his hand into hers. "So what do you think?"

The brunette glanced over at their daughter who was happily playing with her toys. "We're going to miss you."


	3. Hot For Teacher

Chapter 3

 _I'm hot for teacher,_

 _I've got it bad, so bad.  
_

 _I'm hot for teacher._

 _~Hot for Teacher- Van Halen_

Lightning seared across the sky before a resounding crackle of thunder roared through the classroom. Bella paused in her lesson to glance out the window. With her car still in the shop, she would have to take public transportation to get home and being out in the storm displeased her. Returning to the task at hand, Bella began to scribble on the chalkboard. "Alright class, now that we have finished The Scarlet letter, it's time to get started on our next novel." The class groaned collectively and Bella fought the urge to smile. She vaguely remembered when she was on the other side of the desk. While she personally didn't hate English class, she did remember the annoyance of being forced to read books that didn't interest her. "So I'm going to leave it up to everyone as a class to vote on what book we shall read next." Bella wrote three choices on the board: Of Mice and Men, Speak and Their Eyes were Watching God. After putting it to a vote, the class decided on Speak so she passed out the books to everyone in the class and assigned the first two chapters to be read over the weekend.

After the class had been dismissed, Bella began to clean up her classroom. While in the midst of washing the chalkboard, she heard a knock at the door and quickly turned around. She had expected a student, but was pleasantly surprised to find Alice was leaning in the doorway. "Is your car still on the fritz?"

"Unfortunately." Bella grabbed her bag and walked over to Alice. "Looks like I'll be taking the bus for a while." She flicked off the lights and the pair began walking down the hallway towards the parking lot.

"Don't be silly Bella. I'll gladly take you home." Alice smiled at her friend. "Let's stop by the teachers lounge, I think I left my umbrella in there."

Upon entering the teachers lounge, the two women found the principal of the school conversing with a man they had never seen before. "-and you of course have access to this room as well. So what do you think of the school Mr. Pire?" The man the principal was addressing had hair as dark as night that was slicked back with one could only assume to be gel. He had a chiseled face and olive skin tone. He was tall enough that playing sports would be to his advantage and his physique reminded Bella of a soccer player.

Mr. Pire grinned at the principal, lighting up his model-like face. "This seems like a fine place to be a biology teacher. I look forward to starting here on Monday."

The principal returned the smile and led the way towards the door. "Good. Let's go back to my office so you can fill out the rest of the paperwork." When passing by Bella and Alice, the principal greeted them briefly, then waited in the hall for Mr. Pire to join him.

"Hi ladies." Mr. Pire's eyes roved over both women but lingered on Bella. "I'm Demetri Pire, the new biology teacher." He held out his hand and they both shook it hesitantly. "Who might you be?"

"I'm Alice Brandon, art teacher."

"I'm Bella Black, English teacher."

Demetri nodded at both ladies. "Well I look forward to spending the school year with you both." He winked before exiting the room and disappearing down the hall with the principal.

Once he had left, Alice squealed like a small child. "He is hot! Did you hear his voice? It's like sweet velvet! It's so deep and sexy."

Bella grabbed a bright purple umbrella that was resting near the coffee machine. "Shh, Alice he can probably still hear you." she passed her friend the umbrella and the pair exited the lounge then headed for Alice's car.

"Let him hear me. That man probably knows how hot he is."

The drive back to the apartment was filled with Alice salivating over Demetri Pire and how she wanted to have _fun_ with him. Bella listened politely to the man-crazed woman beside her and couldn't help looking forward to the rest of the school year as Alice tended to become theatrical whenever she liked someone. The pixie haired woman hadn't had a serious boyfriend in years. But the closer she came to 30, the more she seemed to want to settle down and possibly start a family. Most of the men she dated, couldn't hold up to her standards so she dumped them. Others she found had one of the three C's: Childish, conceited or crazy. Alice was hard to please but Bella had hopes that one day she would find her soulmate, so she always encouraged the woman to go out on dates.

After they arrived at the apartment, they parted ways and Bella entered her apartment without incident from Caius. Upon entering her apartment, Bella found a surprise visitor.

"Bells. Long time no see." Charlie rose from the couch and greeted his daughter with a tight hug.

Bella returned it graciously, happy to see her father. "Hey Charlie. What brings you here?"

Charlie clutched his heart dramatically. "Bells, how can you say? I haven't seen or heard from you in weeks." Bella nearly gaped at Charlie, suddenly becoming flustered when he and Jacob burst into laughter. "See, I told you it would work. Pay up Jake." Charlie held out his hand while Jacob slapped a fiver into it. "I know my daughter. It's easy to throw her off." he winked at Bella then threw an arm around her shoulder. "Bella, I'm here because this guy," he pokes Jacob in the chest. "Wants me to watch Renesmee for the weekend. He said something about going on a business trip next week and wanting to-

"It's a surprise!" Jacob interjected. "But I called Charlie since he is free for the weekend and is willing to babysit Nessie."

Bella, while curious about the 'surprise weekend', also became confused about why Jacob called Charlie. "Don't get me wrong, I love you Charlie, honest I do. But you live a half hour away. Jake, why didn't you just ask Alice?"

Jacob made a face at his wife. "The last time we allowed her to babysit Nessie, she came back with a spiked hair and colorful vocabulary."

It took the brunette a moment to locate the memories, but once she found them, she shuddered and nodded in understanding. "I remember. Well thanks Charlie." Bella gave her father a half hug then looked around the room. "Where is Renesmee anyway?"

Jacob paled upon realization and sent his wife a sheepish smile. "I may have forgotten to pick her up from pre-school."

"JACOB!" Bella screamed in exasperation. "Go get her!"

Charlie smacked the back of Jacob's head, but followed him out of the apartment so they could pick up Renesmee.

While Jacob and Charlie left to pick up Renesmee from pre-school, Bella prepared an overnight bag for the young child with all the essentials. A couple outfits and pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste and the child's favorite stuffed animal; A ruddy, furry wolf. In the midst of her packing, the house phone began to ring. Bella dropped the bag on her child's bed, then made a quick dash to the living room, plopped down on the couch and answered the phone in a breathy tone. "Hello?"

"...I...get…"

There was so much static on the other line that Bella couldn't make out who the caller was, or what they were saying. "Hello? I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

"...watch…for…"

Bella sighed into the phone. "I'm sorry but I can't hear you. Try calling again but from a different location." Bella hung up the phone and finished packing up her daughter's bag. She didn't need to pack a blanket or pillows because Charlie had a spare bedroom he converted into a bedroom for Renesmee.

Bella was so happy that Charlie had moved to Forks a few years ago, become great friends with Billy, Jacob's father, and made a home for himself. Growing up, Bella lived with her mother as her parents were divorced. But now that she was older, and lived closer to her father than her mother, she was happy to have gotten to know him and developed a good relationship with him.

Jacob and Charlie returned home a half hour later with Renesmee who was very excited to see her grandpa. "Mommy mommy! Pawpaw is here!" Renesmee ran to her mother and hugged her legs. "Daddy said I'm goin ta Pawpaw's house!" Bella picked up her daughter and nuzzled her nose.

"I'm sure you're going to have a great time." she told Renesmee happily.

Charlie cleared his throat, capturing both Bella and Jacob's attention. "Actually, Sue is allowing her daughter to sleep over too."

Bella's eyes widened in surprise while Jacob smirked at Charlie. "Oh, are you setting up a _play date_?"

Charlie punched Jacob's shoulder playfully. "Now you cut out that talk right now Jake. Sue is bringing Leah over and is even allowing her to stay for the weekend so that Ness can have someone to play with. She is even letting me borrow some old Disney movies for them to watch."

"It's really nice of Sue to let Leah stay. How old is she now, five?" Bella asked.

Charlie nodded. "Sure is." He turned to Renesmee who was looking up at him excitedly. "Are you ready to go to my house?"

Renesmee shrieked in excitement. "Yes Pawpaw!"

A sudden banging on their front door had everyone quieting down. "Who on earth could that be?" Charlie asked in annoyance.

Bella had a feeling she knew and motioned to Jacob to open the door. Her suspicions were correct when the door was open and Caius stood on the other side with a scowl plastered on his face. "Could you keep it down?" he griped. "I can hear you all the way across the hall!" He sent a mean face Renesmee's way, and the small child hid behind her mother.

"Hey!" Charlie made his way over to the door. "You need to have some respect for my family." Charlie pointed to the gun attached to his belt loop.

Caius glanced down at the gun and leered at Charlie. "I can call the police and have you arrested for threatening me!"

Everyone except for Renesmee, chuckled at Caius's threat. Charlie whipped out his badge and flashed it to Caius. "Already ahead of you son."

Caius sent Charlie a dirty look, but retreated back to his apartment with what little dignity he had left.

"Alright," Charlie turned back to his family. "C'mon Ness. Let's go home."

The next day, Bella woke to her husband gently nipping at her neck. "Jacob!" she gasped, feeling her body warm to her husband.

When Jacob realized that she was awake, he nuzzled her cheek then leaned over and delicately kissed her lips. "Good morning love."

"Morning Jake." Bella returned the greet lovingly. "Already my morning feels special. I can't wait to see what we're doing with the rest of today." she kissed the tip of his nose then rolled over him theatrically to get out of bed.

Jacob laughed at his wife's antics, but followed her out of bed. While Jacob opened their blinds to let some morning sun into the room, Bella headed over to their closet in search of an outfit for the day. Since she didn't know what they were doing for the day, she wanted to dress for all occasions be it formal or casual. So she threw on a blue, belted tunic dress, some black leggings and comfy, gray flats. She looked at her hair in the mirror then headed to the bathroom to curl it. Meanwhile Jacob slipped on a pressed, white, long sleeved dress shirt with a button down black vest that he left unbuttoned, then pulled on some dark colored jeans.

While Bella was still curling her hair, Jacob headed into the kitchen and prepared breakfast. He'd looked at many videos on how to make pancakes, bacon and eggs and wanted to impress his wife. Since he only knew how to cook a handful of dishes, he was very wary of how the breakfast would turn out. But what was the worst that could happen?

Bella finished curling her hair and shook out her curls so they cascaded over her shoulders as well as down her back. After she unplugged the curling iron and stuck it back in the cabinet, she sniffed the air and frowned. Something was burning. "Oh no." Bella exited the bathroom and sprinted down the short hallway and into the kitchen. Smoke was billowing off of the stove and Bella knew that at any moment the smoke detector would begin screeching. She quickly opened all of the windows in the kitchen and living room.

Jacob was nearly pulling out his hair at the stove. He couldn't figure out what he had done wrong and what had happened to the food. Everything in his sights were either black or bubbling. He cursed quietly and heard a chuckle behind him.

Suddenly he was being pushed aside and his wife was removing the blackened pancakes from the stove. She turned on the faucet and began to soak the skillet. More smoke began to emit from the pan but soon it settled down. Once the skillet was relatively cool, Bella set it to the side, then grabbed the pan with bacon and eggs. "Wow, I didn't know bacon could be in that state." Bella murmured before dumping the food in the garbage. She turned to her husband and smiled meekly. "It's okay honey. It's the thought that counts."

Jacob sighed and looked at the soggy, black pancakes in the sink. "I just wanted to make you breakfast." he told her forlornly. "This was to be the start of a romantic date weekend."

Bella felt touched that Jacob had put so much thought into the whole weekend. "You're very sweet." she kissed his cheek tenderly. "We can always grab breakfast on the way to wherever we're going."

Jacob glanced at the clock hanging in the kitchen. "Well breakfast is over, but I guess we can grab some lunch."

The high trill of the smoke detector began to go off and Bella covered her ears in annoyance. "Take out the batteries, I'll close the windows as the smoke has mostly cleared."

Jacob nodded in understandment then grabbed a chair because even with his height, he couldn't reach the smoke detector that was located on the ceiling. Maybe I should buy a new one. This one has one hell of a delay."

Bella agreed then closed the last window. "Alright love, let's get this date weekend started. I'm intrigued."


	4. Bliss

Chapter 4

 _Gimme some pure delectable love.  
Like I'm going to give to you.  
Keep coming around,  
'Cause I won't run out.  
I can't get enough of you.  
~Bliss- Mariah Carey_

Jacob made sure to get them some food before they started their journey, so he stopped by Five Guys and picked them up some bacon cheeseburgers, fries and drinks to wash everything down. Bella seemed as pleased with the burgers as she would've been with breakfast. Jacob ate while he drove and once he reached the highway, he put the pedal to the medal. Having been married to Jacob for the last four years, she understood and accepted many of his quirks. One of those quirks being that he was a speed demon when there was an open stretch of land.

They were on the road a long time. Longer than Bella had anticipated. There was light conversation but mainly they sat in comfortable silence. After two and a half hours of being on the road, Jacob finally exited the highway and began to drive through a busy city street. Bella peered out of her window curiously and wondered where they were.

"Yes!" Jacob suddenly exclaimed, startling his wife. He noticed and apologized. "Sorry Bella. It's just that when I looked up how long it would take to get here, it said 3 and a half hours. But I knew I could cut the time down and I shaved a whole hour off." He grinned in triumph while pulling into a gas station to fill his thirsty tank.

"Where are we?" Bella asked, but Jacob merely smirked then exited the car.

He didn't take too long and once he was back, Jacob drove around the corner and pulled into a crowded parking lot. Luck was with him as someone vacated a spot and he claimed it immediately. "We're here!" he flashed his pearly whites at his wife then exited the car. Bella followed him and he took her hand in his own. "Welcome to Seattle!"

Bella appreciated big cities as she was so used to the small one they lived in. "What are we doing here?" she asked inquisitively.

"Date weekend remember?" Jacob winked then led Bella across the street to the Seattle Aquarium.

Neither had ever been to an aquarium, but both loved animals especially sea creatures. Which is why Jacob had chosen that place to visit. It had very high reviews online and he wanted Bella to have a special weekend full of awe and excitement.

The aquarium was beautiful and full of the most vibrant colored fish that Bella had ever seen in her life. Different shapes and sizes, some even looked like they were from a different planet with how strange their body was shaped. The aquarium even had a capacious tunnel made of glass.

As the pair walked through it, they could see sharks swim beside and over them. Bella never thought that she would be able to see such creatures up close. They looked so majestic in the water, even docile. The sharks swam beside the fish not even trying to attack or eat them. She marveled at the sea creatures, even placing her hand on the glass when one swam by and paused to look at her before continuing on it's merry way.

A sign at the end of the tunnel told patrons that the 'Feed an Otter' exhibit was open from 2-6. Bella exchanged glances with Jacob before leading the way to the otters.

The otter petting exhibit was nearly filled to capacity with people trying to play with or feed the otters. Bella realized with chagrin that the exhibit was going to close in ten minutes as she and Jacob had spent almost two hours wandering around the aquarium. "Darn, I don't think we'll be able to play with any of them." Bella murmured, looking at the long and chaotic line of people.

"I'm sorry Bella. Maybe we can come back some other time." He threw out the suggestion even though they both knew it was unlikely. An announcer sounded over PA and alerted everyone that the aquarium would be closing soon so to wrap up their activities and begin to vacate the building. "Ready to head out?" Jacob asked once the announcer had finished talking.

Bella was just about to respond when someone bumped her roughly. She glanced over and found a brawny guy who had linked arms with a tall, blonde woman. Both were familiar faces and Bella found a smile stretching across her face. "Emmett? Rosalie?"

The duo looked at Bella and broke apart immediately. "Bella!" Emmett crushed her in a hug before being pushed aside by Rosalie who gave Bella a much more gentle hug. "What are you doing here?" Emmett asked her, then noticed Jacob and sent him a greeting as well.

"Jacob took me on a date weekend." Bella told them bashfully.

Emmett stood beside Jacob and slung an arm across his shoulder. "Well aren't you a romantic?"

"Well," Jacob side-eyed Emmett. "I'm going out of town next week for a little while and I wanted to do something special for Bella before I left."

Rosalie glared at Emmett. "Why can't you ever do anything sweet like that for me?" she crossed her arms indignantly.

Emmett gaped at his wife, leaving Jacob's side and hurrying back to the blonde. "We're on a date right now. Speaking of which," he turned his attention back to Bella and Jacob. "Would you like to join us for dinner? We have reservations at a restaurant and right after is a comedy show."

Bella was charmed by the idea, but didn't know if Jacob felt the same way. She looked up at him for agreement and he seemed just as delighted by the idea. "Sure, but I hope it's not too expensive." Jacob patted his pocket that contained his wallet.

"Nonsense." Rosalie waved away his concerns. "We're paying for it of course. After all, we invited you."

Bella became flustered over their kindness. "Wait, I don't know. We can't let you do that." she tripped over her words and many of them clashed together making half of her sentence jibberish.

Rosalie merely laughed airily and rested a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "It'll be our pleasure. Plus we need to catch up."

Emmett and Rosalie led Bella and Jacob to their limo waiting in the parking lot. "Would you like to ride in the limo with us? We can have our spare driver drive your car to the restaurant."

"Sure!" Jacob tossed Emmett the keys, then climbed into the limo after Bella.

It was a lavish limo like one from the movies. Bella felt posh and fancy as they rode to the restaurant in such an elegant way. Upon arriving, they were led inside a building and followed closely behind Emmett and Rosalie. The restaurant happened to be a gourmet restaurant with food prices starting in the double digits, ending all the way in the thousands. If Bella and Jacob had to pay for their own food, they would've had to share an entree. So the couple were grateful that Rosalie had offered to pay.

Once the four had placed their orders, Emmett sipped from his glass of wine and smiled at Bella. "So how has life been? I haven't seen you since…" Emmett's smile faltered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to dredge up bad memories." Rosalie kicked her husband under the table and glared at him angrily.

"Oh don't worry, I'm over that. The abuse I suffered with your brother...Edward, it's in the past now." Bella reached out and covered Jacob's hand with her own. "I'm with a man who loves me and would never hurt me." Bella turned her head away from everyone at the table to regain her composure. She was becoming emotional over thoughts of her past and present.

Before an awkward silence could befall the table, Rosalie turned to Jacob and directed the conversation his way. "So how is life for you?"

Jacob smiled, thinking about how the last six years that he had known Bella and how they had been the best for him. "I didn't think I'd take to married life so well but I love it." Jacob turned to Bella and squeezed her hand. "I love you." he kissed his wife's cheek gently and a rosy glow tinted her cheeks. "Oh, we've started a family. We have a daughter now."

Rosalie gasped in excitement. "How wonderful! Having children is always a joy. Even if it can be stressful."

"How's the money treating you?" Emmett winked at couple who looked at him sheepishly. "Oh did you run out? I can give you more." He whipped out his checkbook and prepared to scribble an expansive amount of money.

"No, it's okay!" Bella shook her head at Emmett. "We're doing just fine. Please, we don't need your money."

Emmett cocked a brow in surprised confusion, but put away his checkbook. "Well alright." His phone suddenly rang and Emmett excused himself to answer the call.

Rosalie watched him leave and her lips descended into a frown. "Always working." she sighed, then returned to her guests. "Well you aren't the only ones to have started a family." Rosalie reached into her bra and pulls out her phone. She quickly pulled up a picture of her two sons playing in a park and showed Bella and Jacob. "The eldest is five, his name is Collin, the youngest is three and his name is Peter."

"Oh Rosalie. They are beautiful." Bella smiled at how the children were extremely blonde, taking after their mother. But their faces held qualities of their father. "I'm so happy for you."

Rosalie put away her phone and blushed with pride. "They can be quite a handful, but they are the light of my life." Rosalie grabbed her glass of wine and took a deep gulp. "Living in California has been really nice. What about you Bella? How is your daughter?"

"Her name is Renesmee and she's four." Bella paused when Jacob pulled out a wallet size picture of Renesmee playing in the sprinklers. "She's a very happy child. We're all happy." Bella nuzzled Jacob's cheek just as Emmett returned.

Emmett made a face at the couple. "Looks like I returned at a lovey-dovey time. Sorry about that guys. There are some issues with the company." Emmett avoided eye contact with Bella and Jacob for a while which put the pair on edge.

Once the food arrived, everyone ate hungrily, and conversation became light. Soon their meals were consumed and Emmett was paying the bill. Bella ended up seeing the total and nearly fainted. It was just over a thousand dollars. Plus Emmett left a $300 tip for their waitress. The woman didn't seem impressed by the tip and didn't even smile or thank Emmett for the amount.

Emmett motioned to his guests. "This way guys, the comedy show is in this restaurant just on the other side."

The three of them followed Emmett through a small hall and into an enclosed room that resembled a bar with a large stage in the front. A man had claimed the stage and was halfway through his routine when they took some seats at a table near the front. The room could hold a couple hundred and seemed to be half filled.

"-Alright so I've been to many colleges. We won't discuss the actual number because it's embarrassing. But that's beside the point. I took this psychology class and we had a new professor. She starts the class by saying 'Everyone who thinks they're stupid, stand up.' After a few seconds of no one standing up, I decide to stand. She looks at me and says 'Do you think you're stupid?' I look her dead in the face and respond 'No ma'am, but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself.'" The whole room erupts in laughter and even Bella had to cover her mouth as she found the joke to be quite entertaining.

Jacob nudged Emmett who was laughing like it was going out of style. "This guy is a riot!"

Emmett nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I heard he was. It's why I wanted to come tonight."

While they were listening to the man give more stand up comedy, a woman came by and made them drinks. Rosalie ordered a mojito, Bella ordered a blueberry daiquiri, Emmett ordered a beer and Jacob ordered a long island iced tea. Bella side-eyed Jacob guzzling down his high alcohol-content drink. Whenever Jacob became drunk, he got frisky.

Bella nursed her drink and continued to enjoy the show. Meanwhile, Jacob ordered his third drink and rested his hand on Bella's knee. The brunette looked down at the limb and watched as Jacob moved it up and down her thigh slowly. She sighed in content, having consumed just enough alcohol to not mind his affections in public.

Suddenly Emmett received another call and his phone happened to ring loudly.

The man giving his stand up paused in whatever joke he was telling and made a face. "Shit, I haven't heard a ring-tone like that since I was visiting my 80 year old grandma and she was playing a song her dad wrote in the 1800's. I'll bet you're using a flip phone old geezer."

Emmett ignored the man but answered the phone and hurried out of the room so as not to distract the other guests any longer. Rosalie watched him leave and ordered another drink. "This is not the way I wanted the date to go." she admitted aloud.

"Is he always so busy?" Bella asked the blonde whose mood had dropped significantly.

Rosalie scowled at her drink and downed it quickly. "Yeah. But this is ridiculous. He told his company not to bother him today."

Emmett returned just as the show ended. Everyone was clapping and whistling as the man gave a bow and exited the stage.

"Where did you go? You've been gone for almost twenty minutes. The show is over!" Rosalie tried to contain her annoyance but venom was seeping into her tone. "What's so important that they keep calling you?"

Emmett seemed to not hear his wife. He merely turned to Jacob and Bella with a solemn face. "I'm really sorry."

Bella looked at Rosalie then shifted her attention back to Emmett. "Why"

Emmett seemed to be deliberating with himself whether he wanted to say something or not. He fiddled with his fingers and looked down at his feet. "I've been called away on business."

Rosalie stood up from her seat and shoved Emmett's shoulder roughly. "What?! Are you kidding me right now?" She slapped down a hundred dollar bill on the table to cover the drinks then stormed out of the room. A few onlookers watched her then stared at Emmett nosily.

Emmett ignored the onlookers but lowered his voice so that only Bella and Jacob could hear him. "I'm really sorry to have to leave on such short notice…"

Bella didn't understand why Emmett seemed so finicky. She didn't mind that they had to leave as it was starting to get late and she wanted to find out what the plan was with Jacob. "Emmett, it's alright. It was nice to see you and Rose again, but I understand if you have to leave." She sent him a small smile that he did not return.

"Yeah...well look. Rose and I were going to stay at the Edgewater hotel, the penthouse suite. But since we're going to have to fly back to California right now, I don't think I'll be able to use my reservations. I don't want it to go to waste as it's a nonrefundable, so would you and Jacob mind taking it for me?" Emmett looked at Bella funnily. Bella almost got the feeling he was still trying to apologize but she couldn't understand why.

"Are you sure?" Bella didn't want to turn down the offer, but she felt like she was imposing by accepting such a gracious and expensive reservation. When Emmett nodded in affirmation, she sighed. "Sure."

Emmett reached into his pocket and pulled out hotel key card. "I'll call ahead when Rose and I are in the limo and change the room to your name. Also, order whatever you want from room service. All expenses paid."

Bella was shocked by Emmett's generosity. "Emmett, this seems like a lot."

"Please let me do this for you." Emmett walked over to her and gave her a bear hug. "It was nice to see you Bella." He pulled away and bit his bottom lip, a frown forming. "I'm so sorry." Emmett tossed Jacob their car keys then hurried out of the room before Bella could ask why.

Jacob had watched the whole exchange with mild amusement. He wasn't drunk, but he was half a drink away from becoming that way. Bella on the other hand, had only finished half of her drink. So while she was near tipsy, she still had her wits. "C'mon Jacob. Let's find this hotel so we can get some rest."

It didn't take them very long to drive to the hotel that Emmett had made reservations. Bella asked the host before exiting the comedy show and she'd given her very clear directions. Upon reaching the hotel Bella nudged Jacob as he had fallen asleep in the twenty minutes it took to arrive there. "Hey, we're here and I just remembered something."

Jacob wiped drool from his mouth. "What?"

"I didn't pack any clothes."

Jacob waved away her concerns. "I packed us a bag. It's in the trunk." he winked at his wife before stumbling out of the car and opening the trunk. Jacob grabbed the bag while Bella joined him. She allowed him to lean on her as they staggered into the hotel and checked in.

The penthouse suit had it's own elevator that the couple were eligible to take using their keycard. Upon entering their room for the night, Bella was in awe. The room had a panoramic view of the city. The large windows throughout showed the sea and the lit up city. It was beautiful and Bella spent a good five minutes staring out of the window.

Being the most expensive room in the hotel, Bella and Jacob could easily tell. They had plush carpet beneath their feet, a king size bed with 100% pure silk sheets, high ceilings with a skylight and even a 90-inch television hanging on the wall across from the bed. The bathroom was one from a movie with it's waterfall shower and and large round bathtub big enough to seat four people comfortably. It even had water jets and flickering light mimicking a hot tub. Bella felt like she had died and gone to heaven when she slipped off her shoes and flopped on the softest bed she'd ever had the pleasure to lay on.

"Oh Jake." she crooned. "This is sensational."

Jacob had sobered up a bit since the car ride and even he could appreciate the room. He also removed his shoes but didn't stop there and unbuttoned his vest and shirt. Once he was down to just his boxer-briefs he stood in front of his wife and smirked. "Ya know Bella," Jacob leaned over her, placing his hands on the bed beside either side if her face. "We have this whole room to ourselves. No Renesmee or neighbors." He dipped down and kissed the tip of her nose. "What do you think about that?"

Bella felt her body warm at her husband's words and she raked her fingers up and down his toned stomach before reaching up and wrapping one arm around his neck to bring him closer. She nipped at his neck and elicited a soft moan from his lips. "Sounds like we're going to have a fun night."


	5. Release Me

Chapter 5  
 _Release me.  
Release my body.  
I know it's wrong,  
_ _So why do I keep coming back?  
_ _~Release Me- Agnes_

After having a wonderfully romantic weekend in Seattle, Bella and Jacob returned to Forks content. The couple had spent the morning eating breakfast in bed, then took advantage of the extravagant bathroom by soaking in the tub together, which led to a repeat of the raunchy night they had in bed. Before they left, Bella tested out the waterfall shower and found it to be delightful. Overall, it was a very satisfying weekend that they would remember for a long time.

Jacob parked the car behind the apartment in his designated spot and noticed Bella's spot was still vacant. "We should probably call the auto shop before I leave so that we can get your car back. I know you don't like driving mine." Jacob suggested as they entered the apartment building. It didn't take long to enter their home and get settled. "I texted Charlie and he said he'll swing by soon to drop off Nessie."

"Alright, I'm going to stop by Alice's apartment and grade some papers. After I finish I'll cook dinner." Bella first headed to her bedroom and changed into some comfortable clothes, then pinned her hair in a messy bun. Afterwards, she grabbed the stack of essays assigned to five of her classes last week, and headed downstairs to Alice's apartment.

This was a common occurrence for the coworkers. With Alice being an art teacher, she didn't have to assign the students homework often, unlike an English teacher would. So whenever Bella was swamped with work, Alice would help her grade the papers. The duo also enjoyed each other's company and often spent time together.

Bella knocked on the door, while juggling the papers in one hand. Alice opened the door quickly, dressed in her finest attire. "Oh are you going out?" Bella asked confused.

Alice motioned for Bella to enter, then shut the door behind her. "No, I was stood up this time."

Alice's apartment was different than Bella's. While Bella's apartment was bright and relatively clean aside from Renesmee's toys, Alice's apartment was dark and cluttered. The spiky haired woman rarely opened her curtains and she was a borderline hoarder. She also seemed to thrive in the dark and all of the lights in her apartment were dim except for the one in the dining room lamp that a few months ago, Bella had bought for her. The reason Bella enjoyed grading papers in Alice's apartment, versus her own, was that Renesmee couldn't bother her. While she loved her daughter, the young child could be a handful.

"Oh Alice, I'm so sorry." Bella set down her papers on Alice's dining room table, then turned and gave the woman a hug. "Are you okay?" she asked while clicking on the light and illuminating the room.

Alice smiled at Bella. "Well since I gave him the wrong address on purpose, I can't say I'm too disappointed."

Bella's face squinched together in confusion. "What?"

Alice took a seat on top of the table while Bella claimed a chair. "I was all set to go on a date with this man. He seemed relatively perfect." Alice began to count off on her hand. "He had a job, he owned his own home. He's only 29." Alice's smile began to sour. "So I decided to do a background check, just to be thorough."

"Wait, you what?" Bella's jaw dropped at the lengths Alice had gone through. "How do you even-nevermind. Continue."

Alice laughed lightly, swinging her legs against the table. "It's not that hard. And I know how to do it for free." She winked at Bella then continued with her story. "Anyway, I did a background check. Everything was clear, no felons or warrants for his arrest. I thought we were all good to go." Alice stopped swinging her legs then began to tap her fingers against her leg. "So as a final step, I looked him up on facebook and you won't believe what I found out."

Bella didn't want to admit it, but she was actually quite curious as to what Alice could've found out. "Go on."

"He's married!" Alice slammed her fists down on the table. "This perfect man is married! Now I know what you're thinking, 'if he's married, why is he on Tinder?'. That's exactly what I was thinking. So I scrolled through some of his posts and he and his wife fight a lot. But I don't condone cheating, so I gave him the address of a crack house three hours away. He's going to have a long drive. I also blocked him." Alice crossed her arms in indignation. "Cheating is disgusting."

Bella reached out and rubbed Alice's arm. "I'm sorry Alice. Maybe the next guy will be different."

Shoulders were shrugged and Alice scooted off the table to sit in a chair next to Bella. "It's alright. I'm thinking of going for Demetri at work."

Bella grinned at her friend. "He is cute. I can see you with him."

"Me too." Alice grabbed half the stack of papers. "After I help you with this, I'm hitting up the bar and getting a man to buy me a free meal."

This was a common occurrence for Alice. Whenever she didn't have money to afford to afford groceries she would go out and seduce a man into buying her food. Bella didn't know how she always succeeded as she always left the men hanging. "What did you spend your check on this time?"

Alice pointed to her outfit. "It was on sale! I spent less than a thousand dollars on it."

Bella looked Alice up and down and sighed. "Alice, you have a problem. Also, rent is due at the end of the week. What are you going to do?"

Alice shook away Bella's concerns. "We get paid at the end of the week so that won't be a problem, thankfully."

"Well alright. I still think you should manage your money better. Stop buying new clothes. Even if they are cute." Bella smiled at her friend then grabbed a paper to grade. "Hopefully this won't take long so you can hit the bar scene and get your free meal."

It took the women just under three hours to grade the papers. After they had finished, Bella felt exhausted while Alice still seemed to still have an abundance of energy. "Oh I meant to ask earlier, how was your weekend?"

Bella thought back to the lovely time she had in Seattle with Jacob, and running into old friends. "I had a good time with Jacob. We had some much needed alone time."

Alice clasped her hands together. "Oh good! You get weird when you haven't had-

"But it's good to be home." Bella cut off her friend while organizing her papers. "Well I'm going to go. I'm sure my family is starving as it's nearly 7." Bella headed to the door and opened it carefully. "Will anyone even be at the bar on a Sunday?"

Alice smirked at Bella. "There's always someone at the bar willing to buy _me_ food."

Bella laughed at her friend then wished her a goodnight before heading back upstairs. She entered her apartment and put away the graded papers in her traveling case that she would bring to school tomorrow. Luckily she had separated the papers by class so there wouldn't be any confusion. Bella found her living room empty, but heard noise down the hall and assumed Jacob was in Renesmee's room. Peeking her head inside confirmed her suspicions as she found Jacob playing with Renesmee and her toys. "Hey you two."

Renesmee paused in her ministrations and looked at her mother with elation. "Mommy!" she dropped her toys and ran to the brunette standing in the doorway. "Mommy! I had so much fun at Pawpaw's house! Lee-lee was there and we watched movies and ate ice cream!"

Bella leaned down and picked up her daughter, settling the child on her hip. "Sounds like you had a good time. What else did you do?" she kissed her forehead and listened to her daughter talk actively about her weekend. Once she had finished, Bella placed her back on the floor and looked at Jacob who was slouched over a barbie dream house with a toy car through the window. "I'm going to cook dinner. Something light so we can put Renesmee to bed soon."

"I'm not sleepy!" Renesmee pouted at her mother who chuckled in response.

"Actually I was thinking of watching a movie. What do you think Nessie?" Jacob looked at Renesmee hopefully.

The small child placed her hands on her hips. "What movie?"

"You can choose!"

Renesmee grinned at Jacob then raced into the living room to rummage through their DVD collection. Jacob followed his wife into their kitchen and asked her how Alice was doing.

Bella opened their fridge and drew out a few ingredients, intent on making a chicken soup. "She's doing fine. Spending too much money like usual, but otherwise she's alright."

Jacob wrapped his arms around Bella's waist and rested his head on top of hers. "Did you grade all your papers"

"I did indeed." Bella grabbed a large pot and began to fill it with some water, then set it on the stove so that the water could begin boiling.

"I can help you grade papers you know." Jacob suggested, while casually rubbing Bella's stomach.

Bella scoffed, reaching out and grabbing the leftover cooked chicken breasts from a few nights ago. "Last time you helped me grade papers you gave everyone an A and didn't even read them." Bella chopped the chicken quickly then tossed it into the pot. "One of the students had just copy and pasted an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet!"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "How was I supposed to know that?"

"Really? 'But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.' Everyone knows that quote." Bella grabbed some celery next and quickly chopped it to add to the pot. "I'm sorry honey, but you can not grade papers. But that's okay. We all have things we're not good at."

Jacob leaned down and kissed Bella's neck. "I may be bad at some things," he nibbled her ear lightly and caused the woman to shiver from his touch. "But we can agree I'm better at other things right?"

Bella giggled lightly before pushing Jacob away playfully. "Go check on Nessie. I need to finish cooking dinner."

Her husband smiled before leaning down and kissing her reddening cheek. "Alright, I'll leave you alone. I'll be in the living room okay?" Jacob received a nod in response then headed out to find his daughter. He turned on the TV while they searched for a movie to watch.

A delighted squeal emitted down the hall, and childish laughter filled with mirth, rang throughout the house. Bella loved the sound of her daughter's laugh as it was always filled with such happiness. She and Jacob had gotten into the habit of making home videos to preserve the jovial moments that they shared with their daughter. She was growing up so fast, already out of her toddler years. Her birthday was actually coming up in a few short weeks and she would be five years old. Time sure did fly by when you had children.

Renesmee's laughter had simmered down and Bella was able to hear the television. Jacob must've left it on a news station as she heard the weather reports for the week. Bella continued with the task at hand, absentmindedly chopping the carrots to be placed in the steaming pot of chicken soup. Amidst stirring the soup, she listened to the TV.

"— _and that was just uncalled for. The girl was released with a slap on the wrist, but she will also no longer be able to keep the squirrel."_ After the 'squirrel' comment, Bella heard the light chuckles from her husband.

"Why are you laughing daddy?" Bella could practically see the look of curiosity on her daughter's plump face.

"I just happen to know what that girl did with the squirrel. Everyone was talking about it at work." Jacob told her. "Don't play with squirrels okay?"

Bella didn't hear Renesmee's response but whatever it was, it made Jacob laugh. Bella peered into the soup and frowned. It seemed like it was cold and flu season. Everyone was getting sick. She hoped the soup would help keep her family healthy. It didn't seem thick enough so she added some rice and stirred it gently.

" _And to conclude tonight's newscast, a surprise is in store for Edward Cullen."_

All motion ceased for Bella at the name and she dropped the large wooden spoon she was using to stir the soup. She hated to admit it, but hearing his name struck fear into her very core.

" _A lawyer found some new evidence on the Edward Cullen case and it turns out he was wrongly sentenced."_

Bella forced her immobilized body to move and she stiffly made her way into the living room. Jacob didn't even notice as his eyes were glued to the TV.

" _-so the new court date was last Wednesday. They ruled in favor of releasing Edward Cullen for his crimes. I'm sure he's very excited after spending the last," the newswoman glanced at her papers and squinted. "Six years he's spent in prison. I'm sure he's very excited to be released. Here is some footage from when the lawyer contacted Edward Cullen and gave him the news that would change his life."_

 _The female newscaster disappeared and in her spot came a more pixelated camera focusing on a penitentiary. A tall, dark haired man walked through the grimy halls of the building after being frisked by the guards. The man and a security guard walked into a small cement room where Edward stood shackled between two guards looking stoic._

 _The dark haired man, one could only assume was Edward's lawyer, smiled at him. "It's great to see you again, Mr. Cullen. I have good news for you!" Edward's face didn't change but he turned so he was actually facing the man to show that he was listening. The lawyer cleared his throat and pulled out a manila envelope from his briefcase. Shaking it in the air triumphantly, he pulled out some papers and flashed them to Edward. "You've been given a reprieve."_

Bella's breath caught in her throat. Jacob, who had also been immersed in the TV, heard Bella and glanced at his blanched wife standing in the entryway. He quickly got off the couch and embraced her reassuringly. "It's okay. Don't worry, he can't hurt you." Bella barely registered Jacob's words, and her arms hung limply at her side while her eyes remained glued to the screen.

" _-and so you're basically going to be on probation for three years. It's not as bad as it sounds. You just can't leave the state for the first year, or country for the remaining two years. You're mother is excited for you to return home." The lawyer finished and smiled at Edward, then the camera._

 _After the lawyer had finished talking, Edward opened his mouth and asked a single question. "When will I be leaving?"_

 _The lawyer smacked his head and barked a laugh. "Silly me! I almost forgot the best part. You'll be out of here next Monday!"_

 _Edward looked directly into the camera as a leer spread across his face. "Excellent."_

 **A/N: For anyone who read** _ **Remember Me,**_ **I know I put a sneak peak from** _ **Forget Me**_ **as the final chapter. I had to tweak it a bit as the original** _ **Forget Me**_ **was lost on my original laptop that kinda died. So I had to start over from scratch and went in a different direction. Regardless, I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!**


	6. Broken

Chapter 6

' _Cause I'm broken when I'm open.  
And I don't feel like I am strong enough.  
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome,  
And I don't feel right when you're gone away._

 _~Broken- Seether_

An airplane took off from the airport, and Bella watched it rise higher and higher into the sky. The past couple of days had been rough for her. After finding out that Edward was to be released from prison in a few days, she'd become quiet and withdrawn. Memories of the abuse she suffered while dating him resurfaced, and Bella found herself having numerous panic attacks when the memories became too much. Her husband supported her immensely. Jacob understood completely that this was going to be hard for his wife. Whenever she had a panic attack, he would collect her in his arms, take her to their room and sit her on their bed. Once they were there, Jacob would merely hold her, whispering sweet words to her until the attack had subsided. Bella couldn't be more grateful of her patient husband and after two days of unsteady emotions, she had accepted what was happening.

Bella held Renesmee's hand while Jacob removed his suitcase from the trunk of his car. "I'm going to miss you." Bella told him once he had all of things out of the car and had closed the trunk. "I hope you have a safe flight."

Jacob smiled at his wife and set his things on the ground. "I'll be fine." he took a step towards her and placed his hands on either side of her face. "It's you I'm worried about. Should I even be leaving you at a time like this?" his eyes clouded over in confliction.

"Hey, I'll be fine." Bella produced a weary smile. "Just come back to me soon okay?"

Jacob didn't need to respond, he merely leaned down and kissed his wife's lips tenderly. When he pulled away, he picked up his daughter and kissed her cheek quickly. "Are you going to behave for mommy?"

Renesmee giggled and nodded fiercely. "Of course, daddy. But how come I can't go with you?"

Jacob chuckled softly. "It's a grown-up thing."

Renesmee pouted. "But how come mommy can't go with you?"

"Mommy has to work. And if she came with me, who would take care of you?" Jacob's answer seemed to appease the young child and he hugged her once more before placing her back on the ground. "Goodbye my loves." Jacob caressed the side of Bella's face, then grabbed his belongings and headed inside of the terminal.

Bella watched Jacob depart, then looked down at her daughter. "How would you like to get some ice cream?"

The four year old looked up at her mother with wide and hopeful eyes. "Yes!"

Bella opened the back door and placed Renesmee in the booster seat. After seat belting the child, she took the driver's seat and exited the parking lot. Since Bella's car was still in the shop, she had to drive her husband's car. The reason Bella wasn't a fan of driving Jacob's car was because it was a stick shift and she hated the feeling of it changing gears.

It took them fifteen minutes, but soon Bella was pulling the car in the parking lot of Dairy Queen, and heading inside with Renesmee to order them some dessert. Once they entered, Bella walked up to the glass counter that gave them a peek at the flavors. No one was behind the counter at the moment so it was just mother and daughter. "Alright honey, do you see a flavor that looks good?"

Renesmee peered through glass and pointed at the blue and pink ice cream. "Oh mommy! I want that one! It looks pretty!"

Bella's eyes locked on the flavor and found it to be cotton candy. She wrinkled her nose in distaste but forced a smile for her daughter. "Do you want sprinkles on top?"

"Yes, yes! Mommy can I get a cone?" Renesmee clasped her little hands together and sent pleading eyes to Bella.

Bella patted her head fondly just as their server exited the back room. "Sure honey."

"Hey, sorry it took me so long. I was taking some ice cream out of the freezer."

"It's alright." Bella turned her attention from her daughter to the server and froze. The man before her was lanky with bronze, untidy hair. Vibrant green eyes stared into her brown ones, and she felt fear creeping up her spine. "Edward?" she croaked, grabbing her daughter and taking a step back.

The man sent her a bewildered expression. "Uh, no. I'm Austin." he pointed to his nametag as further proof.

The brunette licked her lips nervously. The boy looked almost exactly like Edward and it was dredging up all of her buried anxiety. "I changed my mind." she practically whispered. "We don't want ice cream." Bella grabbed her daughter's hand and rushed them out of the ice cream parlor, leaving behind a very perplexed Austin.

"Mommy what's wrong?" Renesmee asked, confusion coloring her tone. "How come we can't get ice cream?"

Bella strapped Renesmee in her booster seat before jumping behind the wheel and pedaling out of the parking lot. "I don't feel like ice cream from there anymore."

"Aww!" Renesmee crossed her arms and frowned. "So we're not getting ice cream? But you said!"

Bella tried to steady her breathing. After encountering the Edward-look-alike, she nearly fell into another panic attack. The only thing that kept her grounded was her daughter in the back seat. Jacob wasn't here to help her through it and she didn't want to frighten her child so she took numerous slow and steady breaths until she had calmed. It took her a few minutes and by the time she had gathered herself, Renesmee was crying in the backseat. "What's wrong honey?"

Renesmee wiped her eyes as more tears spilled from them. "You said ice cream!" she wailed. "I want ice cream! You said!"

"I know, I know." Bella pulled into the parking lot of the local convenience store. "I'm going to run inside and get some ice cream. You wait here okay?"

Her daughter smiled through her tears and picked up one of her dolls that had made it's way into Jacob's car. "Okay mommy."

Bella hurried into the store, not wanting to leave her daughter in the car unattended for very long. She rushed to the freezer section and grabbed a couple pints of ice cream. Making her way to the register, she paid for the ice cream and was out of the store in less than two minutes.

Renesmee hadn't moved from her spot and for that, Bella was grateful. The duo went home and for the rest of their evening, everything seemed normal. The only thing that bothered Bella was that Jacob never called.

The next day, Bella passed out an assignment to her class. "Don't forget, if you didn't like the grades on your essays, you may correct it and turn it in by Friday for a re-grade." Most of the students in her class groaned at the thought and she smiled inwardly. Bella wasn't so old that she didn't remember being behind the desk of a student. "This assignment I'm passing out now should be completed after you read the next two chapters of Speak. We will discuss it in class tomorrow so come prepared." the bell rang and she dismissed her class.

After everyone had departed, Bella made her back to her desk and sat behind it. She collapsed her body over it and sighed heavily. The woman was grateful it was her lunch break. She just wanted to rest her mind as she thought about what had happened the previous day. Seeing the Edward-look-alike had really taken it's toll on her and made her anxious throughout the day.

"Knock knock."

Bella lifted her head from the desk and turned her attention to the woman standing in the doorway. "Hey Alice."

Alice strutted into the room wearing a blue sundress and white cardigan. She dropped a large brown bag on top of Bella's desk and grinned. "I bought lunch. Join me in the lounge."

Bella regained her composure and eyed the food then Alice's attire. She stood from her chair and peered inside the bag. "What is it?"

"Red Lobster."

Bella scratched her head in speculation. "Can you even afford this right now?"

Alice waved away away Bella's question, then grabbed the bag and motioned to Bella to follow her.

Bella oblied the pixie haired lady and looked at her outfit questioningly. "Why are you dressed like this?"

"Well I want to impress Demetri so I have to always look date ready just in case." Alice winked at Bella, then opened the door to the lounge. There were only a few teachers inside, but one of them happened to be Demetri Pire. Once Alice spotted the chiseled man, she took a seat at the table he had occupied. "Hey Demetri, how is your first day going?"

Demetri flashed Alice his pearly whites. "As well as to be expected. The students here are magnificent."

"That's good." Alice pulled out two plastic containers from the large brown bag and slid one to Bella.

Bella opened the container and found a medley of shrimp and crap on a bed rice. While she was always grateful for free food, she found that she didn't have much of an appetite. Not wanting to be rude, she picked at her food, eating small bits at a time.

During their lunch, Demetri and Alice chatted about mundane things. Bella listened politely, but didn't actively join in their conversation. Sometimes Demetri would direct questions at Bella in efforts to get her to participate in their conversation, but after answering whatever question he asked, Bella would lapse into silence. She didn't mean to come off as anti-social, but a lot was weighing down on her mind.

After their lunch break had ended, Bella headed back to her classroom to prepare for her next class. As she was opening the door, she felt a tap on her shoulder and nearly shrieked from fright. Being on edge was not good when you worked in a school. She turned around to face the person who had startled her and came face to face with Demetri.

The man could tell he had surprised her and looked sheepish. "My apologies Bella. I didn't mean to scare you."

Bella placed a hand over fast beating heart and sighed in relief. "It's alright. It's just one of those days." she sent him a small half smile to show that she wasn't upset.

"I understand that." Demetri gave a short laugh then looked at Bella peculiarly. "You seem out of sorts. Are you okay?"

Bella was taken aback by Demetri's question. She was surprised that he seemed so concerned, since he barely knew her. "I've had better days." Students began to enter Bella's classroom and she looked at Demetri apologetically. "Well it's that time again." she said awkwardly.

Demetri took a gander inside of her slowly filling classroom and nodded in agreement. "It is. I need to head to my own classroom." He placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and sent her an inquisitive look. "Whatever is bothering you, I hope it resolves itself." Demetri left to head to his own classroom and Bella was left with a feeling of bewilderment.

The school day passed without incident and soon Bella was making her way to the pre-school Renesmee went to during the day. From 8:30am until noon, Renesmee learned material from her teachers in pre-school. Luckily for Bella and Jacob, the pre-school doubled as a daycare and they didn't have to worry about leaving work early to pick up their daughter.

When Bella arrived at the school, she found her daughter playing with some other children, outside on the playground. Bella rarely picked up Renesmee from school as Jacob usually got off work first. She paused, watching Renesmee interact with the other children with such unadulterated fun. There weren't that many kids in the neighborhood so she rarely saw her playing with others.

Renesmee spotted her mother and paused in her ministrations. "Mommy!" There was a fence separating them so Bella merely waved at her child, then headed inside so she could take her home. After showing her ID that proved she was Renesmee's mother, Renesmee was released into Bella's care and the pair headed home.

Bella parked in the back of the apartment and exited the car quickly. A rustle in the bush had her pausing in unstrapping Renesmee from her booster seat. A small black retriever trotted out and wagged it's tail happily at Bella. "Well aren't you a cute fella." Bella removed Renesmee from the car, then walked over to the dog that was only a few months old, and more of a puppy than an actual full grown dog. "You're so cute." she leaned down and pet the large pup gently.

"Mommy can we keep him?" Renesmee squatted down near the dog and it lapped at her face. She giggled and pushed it away playfully. The dog barked happily, playing a game of tag with Renesmee who began to run around the backyard.

The apartment they lived in didn't allow pets. Bella knew this and yet she watched the dog playing with her daughter and made a decision to keep him. Their landlord rarely visited the apartment except on rent day, so hiding the dog wouldn't be the problem. But her nosy and callous neighbor might find out and cause them grief. It would be hard to keep the pup a secret from Caius, but Bella was up for the challenge if it would make her daughter happy. After all, she reasoned, there weren't many children in the area for Renesmee to play with so the dog would easily keep her entertained while she was at home, and become her friend.

"Sure. But we have to keep him a secret." Bella winked at her daughter, then picked up the puppy and headed inside of their apartment.

Luckily for Bella, the puppy didn't make much noise and they entered their apartment without incident from their detested neighbor. Before Bella felt comfortable letting the dog roam loose in her house, she gave him a bath. Since she had taken in the dog, she knew she'd have to go shopping for dog food and proper soap and toys in order to care for the animal correctly. For the time being, she fed the dog some leftover boneless chicken she had cooked the other day.

While the dog ate the food, Renesmee petted his clean fur happily. She was very excited about the new addition to the family and Bella was pleased that the dog seemed mild mannered. "We're going to have to give him a name. Why don't you come up with one." Bella suggested.

While Renesmee pondered on that, the phone house phone began to ring. Bella made her way into the living room and answered on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"...out…" there was so much static on the other line that Bella could not decipher much of what the person was saying. "...will...be...wait…"

Bella sighed into the phone. "Please stop calling. I don't know what you're saying. Is this a prank?" she hung up the phone in annoyance and sat back on the couch. Suddenly the phone began to ring again and Bella plucked it from the holster after one ring and answered angrily. "I thought I told you to stop calling?!"

"Bella? Honey what's wrong?"

A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she heard Jacob's voice on the other end of the phone. "Sorry Jake. I thought you were someone else. We've been getting prank calls." Bella paused then her voice turned sharp. "Why haven't you called? I've been worried."

"I'm so sorry Bella." Jacob sounded extremely apologetic and it melted Bella's anger. "My flight ended up getting delayed a few hours and service in the terminal was awful. By the time I made it to South Carolina, it was nearly midnight. Did you know they're three hours ahead? East coast time is weird." Jacob laughed into the phone and Bella couldn't help but smile. She'd always loved the sound of his laughter.

"Well I'm glad you made it there safely. How was work?"

"Me too. Today wasn't too bad at work. They mainly had me organizing goods." Jacob made a noise to indicate his boredom. "How was work for you?"

Bella told Jacob about her day and the couple talked for just over an hour. Jacob made sure to talk to Renesmee too, as he wanted to hear from her as well. Once the call had ended, Bella sat in silence. She had not told Jacob about the Edward-look-alike as she didn't want to worry him and make him feel like he'd made the wrong decision to leave. She had also refrained from telling him about their new pet as she wanted to surprise him when returned home. It was unclear how long they would need Jacob in South Carolina, but Bella hoped that her husband would return to her soon.

As she sat back against the couch, the phone rang again and she picked it up quickly. "Did you forget to tell me something?" she asked sweetly.

"...don't...all…" Whoever insisted upon calling had the worst reception Bella had ever encountered. Something about the calls disturbed her and she quickly ended it by slamming the phone down on the receiver. Goosebumps erupted across her arms and she rubbed them absentmindedly. She didn't know who was calling but wished they would stop.

 **A/N: Updates are moving to Saturday.**


	7. Try Again

Chapter 7

 _What would you do,  
To get to me?  
What would you say,  
To have your way?  
Would you give up,  
Or try again?  
~Try again- Aaliyah_

The school week ended quickly and soon the final bell rang, dismissing Bella's class. She was grateful that the weekend was upon them, as she needed to do some shopping and wanted to relax. As she slipped into her jacket, Alice and Demetri entered her classroom, already packed up and ready to leave. "Hey guys. What's going on?" Bella grabbed her bag and umbrella then walked to where they stood near the door.

Alice clasped her hands together, rustling her latest fashionable attire. Today she sported a red and white polka dot dress that stopped at her knees. Her hair was pushed back by a red headband and red pumps adorned her feet. Not a practical outfit for an art teacher, but Bella knew why the woman dressed the way she did. "Demetri has invited a few of us to Victoria's Tavern." Victoria's Tavern happened to be one of the most popular bars in the small town. Their food was great, the atmosphere was cozy and they recently put in a dance floor with strobe lights that attracted a younger crowd.

"A few of us?" Bella asked while motioning them to exit the room. She flicked off the lights, then closed the door to her classroom. "Who is going?"

The teachers began to walk down the hall, towards the parking lot. "Well it'll be us, Max and Corin from the history department and Julia, the school nurse." Alice answered, looking to Demetri for clarification.

"Yeah. They seem really nice. We teachers need to bond." Demetri flashed a smile at both women, then held the door open for them as they exited the school. "So does it sound like a good idea?"

Bella was going to turn down the offer as the only teacher she socialized with was Alice, but the woman sent her a pleading look, and it reminded her of Renesmee so she reluctantly accepted the invitation.

"Oh good!" Alice hugged Bella briefly. "You can be my designated driver."

Bella rolled her eyes then bid the pair an adieu as she left to pick up her daughter. Since she was going to be spending the evening with her colleagues from work, she needed a babysitter. She ended up calling her father to ask if he was free. Luckily he had no plans for the evening and would be willing to watch Renesmee. When Bella reached her home, their new puppy was very excited and barked happily upon their entry. Bella closed the door quickly as she didn't want Caius to hear the noise.

"So Renesmee, have you come up with a name for him?"

Renesmee squatted so she was able to pet the dog easier. "Can we call him Midnight?"

Bella liked the name as the dog's coat was as dark as the midnight sky. "Midnight it is." Bella had planned on buying the dog some decent food that weekend as she was sure he was tired of eating chicken and peanut butter. "What's that smell?" Bella followed her nose into the kitchen and found a small mound of dog poo waiting for her near the stove. She sighed and peered out of the kitchen at the dog, laying on his back while Renesmee played with him his fur. "We should've gotten a cat instead." she grumbled, then set about the task of cleaning up the dog's mess.

Charlie arrived at the apartment around half past seven in the evening, and Bella gave him a brief hug as he entered. "I made a chicken pot pie. It's on the stove, and should still be warm. Renesmee has been fed, so help yourself to it." Bella slipped on her shoes, and grabbed her jacket. "Oh and we recently got a dog."

As if to prove it's existence, Midnight came running down the hall and barked at Charlie excitedly. Midnight was a very friendly dog and seemed to take to meeting new people. "Well isn't he cute?" Charlie pet Midnight's head and his tail wagged merrily. "What's his name?"

"Midnight." Bella replied simply.

"I like it." Charlie watched Midnight run back towards Renesmee's room and smiled. "Dogs are great. I'm glad you got one. But I thought this apartment didn't allow pets."

Bella shrugged and grabbed her house keys. "Try to keep him from barking too loudly ok?"

Charlie laughed and patted his daughter on the shoulder as he passed her on his way to Renesmee's room. "Have fun Bells."

Bella half waved, then headed downstairs to meet Alice. She barely got out a knock before Alice was ripping open the door. The woman had changed her clothes from earlier, but kept her red pumps. Ditching her polka dot dress for a sleek, black, cocktail dress she had also spiked her hair up into a mohawk. "Wow Alice, you look great."

Alice flashed her pearly whites and placed a hand on her hip. "I try." She looked Bella up and down and her smile fell. "What are _you_ wearing?"

Bella glanced down at her dark colored jeans and since she hadn't zipped up her jacket, her button up maroon shirt was visible. "What? This looks nice right?"

Alice sighed dramatically. "Bella, I love you but you wouldn't know fashion if Armani himself dressed you." She grabbed her purse and followed Bella out of the apartment. "We have to go shopping together soon. I will show you where to buy the finest clothes."

"Alice, I like my clothes." Bella assured her. "Don't worry about me."

It took a while to reach Victoria's Tavern because the rain turned heavy and Alice had to drive the speed limit, much to her chagrin. It was nearly eight by the time they made it to their destination and had parked in the crowded lot. Alice checked her hair and makeup in her compact mirror to make sure nothing had smeared and was satisfied with what she saw. "Let's head inside, he texted me and told me that everyone is here except for Corin."

They walked inside of the tavern and were immediately assaulted with the smell of booze and chicken wings. The large tavern was filled with people. Many had occupied the tables and booths, but there were also a few people cutting loose on the dance floor. Loud music reigned throughout the building and Bella's senses were going into overload. While her ear adjusted to the volume of the music, her nose felt abused with the heavy stench of alcohol. Alice didn't seem to be deterred and nudged Bella, when she spotted their co workers sitting in a circular booth over in the corner. When the pair made their way over, Demetri greeted them pleasantly.

"Hey Alice, Bella." He scooted over to make room and Alice quickly sat next to him, followed by Bella. Max sat on the other side of Demetri with the school nurse, Julia.

"This is nice, we should do this more often." Alice suggested, scooting closer to Demetri.

"That's what I'm saying!" Max chimed in. "This is a great way to vent and relax. Anyone got some crazy stories?"

Julia snorted, looking down at her glass of whiskey. "They can be demons." she grunted. "Do you know, a couple of 'em pretended to be sick just so that they could have sex in the back room?" Julia chugged down the rest of her beverage and looked forlorn that it was empty. "I'm going to us some drinks." She left the booth and headed over to the bar.

"Poor Julia." Demetri commented. "I feel bad for her."

"Why?" Alice asked confused.

Demetri didn't have to respond, Max jumped in. "She's getting a divorce."

"That's so sad." Bella murmured. The four of them all turned their gazes to the middle age woman as she ordered them drinks. She was older than all of them as she was well into her 40's and everyone else was under 30.

Max noticed that she was having issues with the drinks and left the booth to help her. While he was gone, Corin showed up dressed similarly to Alice. She slid into the booth and ended up on the other side of Demetri. "Hey guys." she fluttered her lashes at Demetri and Alice exchanged glances with Bella.

Max and Julia returned to the booth with drinks for everyone, even Corin. After distributing them, they conversed, joking about work and complaining about many of the problematic students. Bella nursed her drink as she wasn't trying to get intoxicated the way her colleagues seemed to be.

"I had a student tell me that George Washington _Carver_ discovered America in the _1800's_." Max massaged his temples. "It's like they're getting more stupid with every passing year."

Alice laughed at the story. "I swear it's something in the water. I had a student ask me if he should give this girl he was crushing on, his ear." Alice picked up her nearly empty margarita. "I told him he's not Van Gogh so no. Hey that rhymed." She giggled at her own words and leaned into Demetri, resting her head on his shoulder.

Julia looked up from her fourth glass of whiskey. "Was the kid lanky with big ass blue eyes?" Alice nodded and Julia scowled. "That's one of the idiots who thought that it would be okay to have sex in the back room." She looked at her empty glass and held it upside down. "I need another drink." Julia left the table and her coworkers snickered.

"Wow she can really pack em." Corin commented. Suddenly a song began to play that had more people joining the dance floor. "Hey we should dance."

Demetri smiled at Corin. "I'm game."

"Sounds good to me." Max agreed.

Alice didn't want to be shown up by Corin so she accepted the invitation to dance. Soon everyone was on the dance floor, having a blast while Bella remained in the booth, still sipping her first drink. Julia remained at the bar as a man had taken interest in her, and was supplying her with drinks. Bella watched her co workers dancing and noticed a rivalry starting between Alice and Corin over Demetri. Alice would dance in front of Demetri sensually and Corin would slide in between the two. This happened for multiple songs and Bella couldn't help laughing when it became overtly obvious what the women were doing. At one point, Max tried to jump in and dance with Corin but she shoved him aside and he ended up stumbling into a few people. Demetri escaped the women and walked through the throng of people to make his way back to the booth. When he returned, he to take a swig of his drink.

"Bella, why aren't you dancing?" Demetri asked after gulping down half of his drink.

Bella shrugged and motioned to the empty booth. "Someone has to keep an eye on things right?"

Demetri rolled his eyes and held a hand out to Bella. "Screw that, come dance with us."

Bella looked at the hand warily. "I don't know. It looks pretty crowded." Bella wasn't wrong. More than half the occupants of the bar happened to be occupying the dance floor. Alice and Corin were still dancing, but were looking towards Demetri longingly.

"It's not so bad. You'll have fun. Trust me." Demetri insisted and finally won Bella over when she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. The crowd seemed to part slightly for Demetri and he led Bella through the crowd towards the middle of the floor and began dancing. Bella felt awkward but lifted her hands and shook her hips to the beat. She only ever danced in the comfort of her own home and while she couldn't dance professionally, she could at least carry a beat. Demetri smiled at her in encouragement and she returned it full force.

It didn't take long for Alice and Corin to show up and cut in. But Bella didn't mind and ended up easing her way out of the dance crowd. She only danced for a few minutes, but surrounded by so many hot bodies had her overheating and needing a breath of fresh air. So she grabbed her phone and stepped outside of the tavern, walking towards where they parked.

It had stopped raining, but the ground was slick with water, so Bella had to watch her step. When she reached Alice's car, she leaned against it, then called Charlie. He answered on the fourth ring and she greeted him. "Hey Charlie, how's it going with Renesmee?"

Childish laughter could be heard in the background, and Bella could just make out the faint sound of the television. "It's going just fine Bells. We're watching a movie."

Bella glanced at her phone and noticed the time with a frown. "It's past her bedtime Charlie."

"She doesn't seem tired yet. But don't worry I'll lay her down after the movie goes off."

"I hope you do."

Charlie coughed into the phone and made a funny noise. "Oh no, you're fading out. I can't hear you. You're breaking up."

Bella rolled her eyes when he hung up, then slid her phone back into her pocket.

"Hey."

Bella turned around swiftly and found a man standing near her, smoking a cigarette. Her heart was beating fast as the man had startled her so it took her a moment to reply. "Hi."

The man took a deep puff of his cig and blew the smoke high into the air. He was much taller than her, maybe even rivaling Jacob in height. He had no hair, and tanned skin which was rare in Forks as the sun was rarely out. "What brings you out here this time of night?" Bella noticed with mild surprise that he had a thick Italian accent.

"I just wanted to make a phone call." she patted her pocket while responding. "What brings you out here?" Bella didn't want to hold a conversation with the man, but she was getting strange vibes from him.

The man held up his cigarette. "I needed a smoke. I keep planning to kick the habit but it can be hard." He took one final puff, then dropped it on the ground into a puddle. "Why did you come out here alone?" the man walked closer to Bella ran his hand down her arm.

Bella took a step away and glanced towards the tavern. "I just needed to take a call. But I'm done now, so I'm going back inside."

The Italian man laughed then gripped Bella's arm tightly. "Why so fast? I thought we were having a chat."

"Would you let go of me, please." Bella didn't raise her voice, or react in a scared manner. She didn't want the man to know that he had terrified her.

Instead of releasing her, his grip tightened and he pulled her towards him. "It's rude of you to exit a conversation without saying goodbye." Because he had pulled her into him, she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"I'm sorry for being rude. Let go of me." Bella felt her anxiety beginning to build. Flashbacks from when she used to date Edward were triggered and her breath came out haggardly. "Please let me go."

The man did not comply to Bella's wishes, but instead began to tow her towards his car. "I'm tired of girls like you treating me like this." he snapped angrily. "We were having a nice chat. I'm going to take you home with me and teach you some manners."

Bella began to struggled, wanting to be released as a panic attack was beginning to come over her. "No stop. Let go of me! Edward, please don't hurt me!"

 _The store was large, and built like a maze. Everywhere Bella turned, she thought the aisle would lead her towards the cash registers in the front of the store, but instead she would end up deeper and deeper into the store. All she wanted to buy was a cute, inexpensive lamp that had caught her eye. It was small, compact and red. She was able to carry it with one hand, but the confused woman could not make her way to the front of the store. It was almost like the designers had made the store to keep customers trapped in there for weeks._

" _Where_ is _she?!" an angry voice howled. Bella shuddered when she thought of him finding her. It was almost worth it to be lost. She contemplated hiding in the store forever, never having to return to him. But she knew that if_ he _didn't find her soon, heads would roll. Bella began to walk towards his angry growls, and eventually found him in the bath tub section._

 _She motioned to him with a half wave as she drew closer to him. "Hey Edward. Sorry, I got lost."_

 _Once Bella had reached him, Edward narrowed his eyes at her in speculation. "Leave us." He spoke to a man standing beside him, shaking at the tone of Edward's voice. Bella had never learned his name, but understood that he was one of Edward's employee's. She always thought of him as the stuttering man because whenever he spoke to Edward, he stuttered from being so nervous._

 _After the man had gone, Bella pondered making a run for it, as Edward looked livid. "I'm sorry I got lost." she murmured, looking down at her feet. A burning sensations suddenly flared across her face, and she dropped the lamp in surprise. It fell to the ground and shattered into a hundred pieces. Bella brought her hand to the side of her face and locked eye contact with Edward. "You didn't have to slap me." she nearly whispered. Her hand was shaking against her cheek and she felt tears well in her eyes from the shock._

" _And you didn't have to be a fucking idiot." Edward grabbed her arm roughly and towed her towards him. "Let's go." He began to harshly drag her towards the front of the store. Taking the route that kept them from prying eyes._

 _Bella felt like her arm was going to be ripped from her socket, he was gripping her so tightly. "Edward I'm sorry. Please let me go." she begged, almost stumbling as he was walking so fast. "Please!"_

"What's going on here?" Demetri asked sharply.

The man who still had a hold of Bella's arm, released her and she sank to the ground, panting harshly. "What's it to you? Go about your business."

Demetri puffed out his chest and walked towards the man. "That's my friend you got there. So this is my business." he growled, never breaking eye contact with the man. Once Demetri was standing in front of him, it was clear that the Italian man was a couple inches taller, but much thinner than Demetri. "Bella, are you okay?"

The woman in question was still on the ground, but was crawling away from the bald man, and towards Demetri. Once she had reached her co worker, she held on to his leg and used him to help herself stand up. Demetri broke eye contact with the man to assist her and received a quick punch in the face, knocking him and Bella on the ground. The Italian man looked ready to attack them both, but Alice and Corin came rushing out of the tavern screaming at the man.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Corin screamed.

"Leave them alone!" Alice shrieked.

The man actually seemed intimidated by the women and took off towards his car. Once he had gone, Alice and Corin tended to Demetri and Bella. Corin mainly focused on Demetri and Alice aided her friend. "Bella are you alright?" she asked softly.

Bella sat up from the ground and looked at Alice weakly. "I'm fine." She was shaken from the ordeal, but was starting to calm down. "Is it alright if we cut this outing short? I want to go home."

"Of course Bella." Alice stood up, then offered a hand to Bella. Once the women were upright, they turned to Demetri and Corin. "We're going to go home."

Demetri was helped to his feet by Corin, and was massaging his jaw. "Bella, are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't come out sooner."

"What were you doing out here?" Corin asked snippily. "There are psychos loose. You can't just go outside, at night, alone. You know better."

"Hey, cut her some slack Corin." Alice snapped. "She's been through enough."

Bella patted Alice's shoulder in gratitude, but also looked to Corin wearily. "I needed to make a phone call." She looked to Demetri and gave him a watery smile. "Thanks for coming when you did. I don't know how to thank you enough."

Demetri waved away her thanks. "You being alive and unharmed is thanks enough."

Bella bid her colleagues a farewell, then headed to Alice's car, with the pixie haired woman following close behind her. When they were on the road back to the apartment, Alice asked Bella if she wanted to talk about it. It being so fresh, Bella declined and merely told her that she would be alright. So to lighten the mood, Alice ranted about how Corin was going to be a problem.

"Every time I got him alone, _she_ was there. I don't know what I'm going to do." Alice sighed into her seat. "I'm going to have to up my game."

The car suddenly became quiet and when Bella had stopped at a red light, she checked on Alice only to find the woman asleep with her mouth open and drool beginning to make it's way down her chin. Bella continued to drive them home, but thoughts of her past had her mind not focused on the road. It was a miracle they made it home in one piece as Bella barely paid attention to her surroundings. "What am I going to do?" she whispered to herself sadly. "I need help."

 **A/N: Happy Independence Day to any American readers. I hope you BBQ and enjoy all the food \\(*o*)/**


	8. Comeback Kid

Chapter 8

 _Well, maybe it's the common curse.  
Maybe things get bad before they get worse.  
I don't wanna become someone,  
Who can't live up to what's already done.  
~Comeback Kid- Brett Dennen_

The weekend flew by without further incident and when Jacob called to check up on his wife, on Sunday afternoon, he was shocked to find out about the debacle that happened when she had gone to the tavern with her coworkers.

"He put his hands on you?!" Anger seeped into Jacob's voice. "What did he look like? When I get back, I will find him and kick his ass!"

Bella sighed into the phone, holding it close to her ear. "Jacob, I'm alright now. Besides, it was dark and I don't really remember."

"Honey, I am so sorry I'm not there for you right now." Jacob seemed sincerely regretful and it caused his wife's heart to lurch.

Bella didn't know what to say so she asked the question that had been nagging at her for a while. "You're coming home soon right?"

There was a pause, one that had Bella's anxiety building. "It looks like I'm going to be here until the end of the week. But I haven't heard any word of when my services will no longer be needed." Jacob told her truthfully. "But everything is going smoothly here, so I'm going to hope for the best." When Bella didn't respond, Jacob lowered his voice. "Are you sure you're alright Bella?"

Bella didn't want to tell him the truth. That ever since she heard of Edward being released, she'd become so fragile and skittish. What was going to happen after he was free? That simple question with an inconclusive answer is what had Bella completely and irrevocably terror-stricken. She just wanted to return to the days where anxiety wasn't a burden she had to bear, and the only worries she had were if they were going to pay their rent on time.

The brunette forced the thoughts away and responded to her husband after a pregnant pause. "I will be when you get back."

After their call ended, Bella searched the apartment for her daughter. She found Renesmee sitting on her bed, nodding off while Midnight lay curled next to her. "Renesmee?" Bella called softly.

The young child looked up at her mother with tired eyes. "Yes mommy?"

"I'm going to make a quick trip to the store okay?" Bella entered the room and sat on the corner of her bed. "Since you look tired, I'm going to let you stay here. But remember what I always say when you're here home alone." Bella smiled at her daughter. "What do I always say?"

Renesmee yawned before responding. "Don't answer the door or phone. And don't leave my room unless I have to pee."

Bella kissed her forehead. "Good girl. Will you behave while I'm away?"

Renesmee nodded her head while rubbing her eyes. "I'll be good mommy."

Bella stood up from the bed and watched her daughter close her eyes and fall straight to sleep. She sometimes wished going to sleep could be that easy for her. Lately going to sleep had led to dreams about… Bella shook her head clear of such thoughts before heading into the living room, grabbing her purse and heading out of the house.

The reason Bella needed to go to the store was that she had never completed the shopping she had intended to do. They'd had Midnight for a few days and the only thing she had been able to feed the dog was table scraps. While he didn't seem to mind, she knew it would be for the best if she bought proper dog food.

It didn't take long for Bella to reach Filmores, the local retail store that also happened to be Jacob's place of work. It felt weird for her, to enter the store and Jacob to not be there. Most of the employee's already knew Bella as she had been to the store numerous times, so they greeted her as she passed by them.

She grabbed a cart, as she was going to do some light shopping and began her perusement of the aisles. Bella enjoyed cooking and made sure to pick up the essentials that she was running low on. She also made sure to stop by the pet aisle and picked up their new dog some food, a collar, leash and some soap. While she was checking out the different brands of dog food, she felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around, startled. Bella placed a hand over her heart and sighed in relief. "Hey Demetri."

Demetri smiled apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"

For a moment, Bella thought Demetri was talking about the recent anxiety issues she had been having over the release of her incarcerated ex. But then she remembered the tavern and shuddered as that memory disturbed her just as much. "I'm alright." she sent a weary smile. "I just hope that never happens again."

"When we go out again, I'll make sure that doesn't happen." Demetri was so sincere that it touched Bella. After being emotionally moved, Demetri stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, embracing her tightly. The hug surprised her and happened so quickly that Bella didn't know how to react. After Demetri had released her, Bella spotted a mild blush on his cheeks. "Well, I'll let you continue with your shopping. See you at work tomorrow." He patted her shoulder as he walked by her and left the woman feeling befuddled and unsure of his feelings towards her.

The next day, Bella laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was early morning, and soon her alarm would ring, starting her day. She went through her morning routine in her head, and made sure that she wasn't forgetting anything. Today was the day that she had been dreading. Edward was to be released from prison. Now that the day was finally here, she felt less anxious. She was starting to realize that since there was nothing she could do about his newfound freedom, she just had to accept that. What was the likelihood of him even finding her? He didn't know where she lived and even if he did find her, Jacob would be there to protect her. Bella was comforted by her thoughts and it even brought a smile to her face. "Jacob." she murmured aloud.

Suddenly her phone alarm began to ring and she grabbed it, hitting the dismiss button. While holding her phone, she noticed a text from her husband. _Good Morning Love 3_ Bella felt her heart flutter at the simple good morning text. Even after 6 years of knowing him, he still caused her to feel butterflies in her stomach. She turned her camera on and quickly took a picture. Her hair was a mess, her camisole was askew and she had dried drool caked on the side of her face. But she sent him her happiest smile that was reserved for only him. After she sent the picture, she prepared to start her day.

The disheveled brunette took a quick shower and threw her hair in a ponytail. After she had dressed in her normal teaching attire consisting of a button up shirt and some dark colored slacks, she went to wake her daughter. Renesmee was fast asleep in her bed with Midnight curled by her feet. Bella reached into her back pocket and snapped a picture making a mental note to show Jacob sometime after she told him about their new pet.

"Renesmee, honey. Wake up." Bella shook her daughter gently and watched the small child's eyes flutter open. "C'mon, it's time to get ready for school."

Renesmee sat up in bed and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Okay mommy." she yawned widely, then hopped off her bed, in search of the bathroom.

While Renesmee was emptying her bladder, Bella laid out an outfit for the child to wear, on her bed, then headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She decided to make something easy, and merely scrambled some eggs and fried some sausage. Just as she was letting the excess grease soak the paper towel under the sausage, her daughter entered the kitchen, dressed in her clothes and with Midnight behind her. "Can I feed the doggy?" she asked hopefully.

Bella pointed to the bag of dog food sitting in the corner. "Be careful okay? Try not to spill any." While Bella plated their breakfast, she kept an eye on her daughter as the small child tried to get food out of the bag and into the dog bowl. Bella was pleasantly surprised when the girl took the empty dog bowl and dipped it into the large bag. When she drew it out, it was filled with kibble and she placed it on the floor for Midnight. "Good job Renesmee." Bella motioned for Renesmee to follow her to the dining room table where they ate their breakfast.

Halfway through their meal Midnight finished his kibble and trotted over to their feet. He barked happily and tried to crawl onto Renesmee's lap. When he slid back to the floor because he was too small, he barked again and sat by her feet.

Bella shoveled a forkful of eggs into her mouth just as someone knocked on their door. She could tell from the way the person knocked, that it was not Alice. Which could only mean one thing. Bella steeled herself for the abrasive man and opened her door apprehensively. She was not disappointed by her guesses as the man across the hall stood in her doorway, hands on his hips and a scowl sketched across his face. "Hi Caius, what can I do for you?"

Caius narrowed his eyes at Bella and his nostrils flared. "Why do I hear barking coming from your room?"

"We were watching the puppy bowl. I'm sorry if my TV was up too loud." Bella lied without missing a beat.

Caius tried to peek his head into her apartment but Bella stepped forward, preventing him. "If that is all, I would like to finish breakfast with my daughter. If you will excuse me."

Bella quickly closed and locked the door. She just barely heard Caius grumbling to himself as he walked back to his apartment. "There's something fishy going on over there and I'm going to find out what."

With the door closed, Bella released a sigh of relief. That had been a close one. She would have to work on keeping Midnight quiet or else Caius would find out and there would be hell to pay.

After breakfast, Bella dropped Renesmee off at school, then headed to work.

The day passed by normally. When lunch time rolled around, Bella wasn't surprised to hear a knock on her door. She looked up, expecting Alice but finding Demetri. Bella didn't know how to feel about Demetri as she was starting to get vibes from him that made her nervous.

"Hey Bella." Demetri greeted cordially. The chiseled teacher sauntered into the room and stopped in front of her desk. "How are you?" he asked, then leaned on her desk while she awaited his response.

"I'm alright." she told him, avoiding eye contact. "What brings you in here?"

Demetri stood up and straightened his crisp shirt. "Well I've noticed that unless you are invited to the lounge, you spend your break in here. Demetri held out his hand. "So let's go." he flashed her a wicked smile that was pushing more definiteness into Bella's mind that Demetri might have feelings for her.

Instead of taking his hand, Bella grabbed her lunch from home and followed him into the teachers lounge.

Alice was seated at their usual table and looked up at the pair happily when they entered. "I was wondering if you two were going to show up." she turned her attention to Demetri and pulled out a large book. "This was very interesting, thank you for letting me borrow it." she slid the thick book towards Demetri who took it carefully.

While the pair discussed the book, Bella zoned out, trying to figure out a way to tell Alice about Demetri's crush on her. She knew that Alice liked him, and she didn't want to cause conflict with her friend because of jealousy. Why did Demetri even like her? Didn't he know she was married? Bella suddenly realized that was the problem. She had never talked about being married around Demetri and it was easy to overlook her ring finger. Now the only problem was how to bring up Jacob without being awkward.

"Hey Bella, when is Jacob coming back?" Alice suddenly asked, turning her attention to the brunette.

Bella snapped out of her thoughts and tried not to frown. "It hasn't been determined yet."

Demetri looked between the two women perplexed. "Who is Jacob?"

Alice beat Bella to the punch in answering. "Her husband." Alice pointed to Bella's ring finger.

"You're married?" Demetri asked surprised.

Bella nodded shyly and a faint blush colored her cheeks. "He's away right now and I miss him so much."

The conversation was cut off as the bell rang signaling the end of their lunch.

During Bella's final class, she gave an in class assignment that allowed the students to work in pairs or groups. While they were completing the assignment, she set about grading some papers from the stack that never seemed to get smaller. In the midst of her grading, she overheard a conversation between a couple of her students.

"I heard from my mom that he was put in jail for murder."

A quiet gasp could be heard. "That's impossible. You can't be released from prison if you murdered someone."

"Yes you can." the female student's voice became snarky. "It was attempted murder but that's the same thing."

"No it isn't."

"Whatever." there was a pause. "I wonder who he tried to kill. My mom said it was someone from town."

The student rustled their paper. "Well I hope he doesn't try to kill anyone here again. Hey what's the answer for number seven?"

Bella tuned out the pair after listening in on half their conversation. She couldn't believe that rumors were already soaring through town about Edward. She really hoped that no one ever found out that it was Jacob whom Edward had tried to murder. She wanted to keep her private life private and people tended to become nosy when it came to gossip in such a small town.

Once Bella had made it back to her home with her daughter, she took Midnight on a much needed walk. She had to be careful though when bringing the animal in and out the house. She had gotten better at it over the past few days, but she always remained vigilant of her callous neighbor who would sell her out in a heartbeat. She often considered moving, but she liked her apartment and the rent was affordable. She didn't want to be run out of a place that she enjoyed because her neighbor was obnoxious. It just didn't seem fair.

As the day wound down, Bella settled in front of the television, deciding to watch the news before putting Renesmee to bed.

" _-thanks Phil for the weather. Now an update on the Edward Cullen case." the newswoman fiddled with some papers on her desk, and stacked them neatly. "Edward Cullen was released today after spending six years in prison. He has been reinstated at Cullens Incorporated and we hope that this scandal will soon be behind him."_

Bella muted the television as a single tear streamed down her face. All this time she had been fearing Edward's release. Thoughts of him coming back to hurt her for putting him in jail was all she could think about. It seemed the only plausible answer. But now that she thought about it, Edward would not be coming after her. The only reason he abused her in the first place was because he didn't want to marry her but was being forced to. What Edward ever truly wanted was to own the company and now that he was free, he would be able to do just that. Bella leaned back against the couch and finally relaxed. After being tense for a whole week because of the news, she finally felt okay about the situation.

Bella grabbed the remote and turned off the television. After having her revelation, she decided to turn in early as Renesmee was already asleep. Just as she was about to head to her room, the house phone began to ring. She picked it up on the second ring and greeted the person on the other end. "Hello?"

"Isabella Swan?" A deep voice asked on the other end.

Bella's grip on the phone loosened and she almost dropped it in surprise. Maybe she had been lying to herself. Maybe she wasn't okay. "Edward?"


	9. Leave Me Alone

Chapter 9

 _Believe me when I say, you stupid fool!  
You're scaring me to death, that's not cool!  
Why won't you leave me alone?  
Just leave me alone!  
~Leave me alone- Alexander Rybak_

Bella clutched the phone in her hand and steadied herself. The shock of hearing Edward's voice after six years was starting to wear off and she took a seat on her plush couch as she felt this was a conversation worth sitting down for. "I'm married now." she told him, remembering how he had used her maiden name. "I'm Isabella Black now."

Edward chuckled into the phone. "So you've married that lowlife who crashed our wedding? Why am I not surprised."

Bella couldn't tell if Edward was actually annoyed that she had married Jacob, or if he even cared. His voice sounded strange over the phone. "How did you get my number?"

"I have people." Edward scoffed, answering her like she had asked a stupid question. "The previous times that I have called, there was a lot of static interference so I doubt you were able to hear me."

Bella remembered the mystery caller who she could never make out what they were saying. Now that the mystery was solved, she felt somewhat relieved but also confused. Why was he calling her? "What do you want?" she asked, cutting to the chase as Edward was making her feel uneasy.

"I didn't call for any one thing. Only to tell you that I'm out now and this time you won't be able to stop me from getting what is mine." Edward snapped. "I _will_ control my company, so you failed."

Bella sighed into the phone. "Edward, I never wanted to stop you." She paused, remembering when they had been together. "I loved you. It was you who did this to yourself. I didn't take the company away from you."

Edward snickered into the phone. "Shut up Isabella _Swan_. I know how close you were to my father. You made him change his will before he died so that the only way for me to succeed was to marry _you_. You're a gold digger. A filthy _leech!_ "

"What?" Bella's jaw fell slack at Edward's words. He'd been locked away for so long that he'd come up with preposterous reasons to hate her. She couldn't believe the words coming out his mouth. "I didn't want your money. I only wanted your love."

"No!" Edward snapped harshly. From his tone, this was the part when he would slap her for doing or saying something he didn't like. Bella was thankful she was nowhere near him. "I know the _truth_. Don't lie to me!"

Bella grew tired of the conversation. She didn't feel scared, just exhausted from all the emotions he caused her to feel. "Whatever. Don't call here again." she hung up the phone before he could respond and sank into the couch wearily.

A couple days later, Bella found herself alone with Demetri. She had thought that after he had found out she was married, he wouldn't be interested in her anymore. But it seemed that the opposite was quite true. After finding out that Bella had a husband, Demetri often asked her questions about him as though he were trying to get to know Jacob vicariously through her.

"So when is your husband coming back?" Demetri asked, during lunch. Alice happened to be in a meeting with a parent so she was absent, much to Bella's chagrin.

"It's inconclusive at this time." Bella murmured, taking a bite of her sandwich. She was running late that morning and didn't manage to pack herself a lunch. So she was stuck paying for food from the cafeteria. Most of the food the school served reminded her of something from a sci-fi movie. So after a brief scan of the mystery mushy meals and discolored vegetables, she went with the one meal that at least looked like it was made that year. While the sandwich left much to be desired, it would have to do for now. "So how are your classes going?"

Demetri took a bite of his burger. "Same ol', same ol'." he responded. "So does it get lonely at home? Since Jacob isn't there?"

Bella looked down at her half eaten sandwich in front of her sadly. "Sometimes. But he calls..." Even when she tried to divert the conversation, Demetri didn't take the hint and brought up Jacob again.

"Hey I have an idea." Demetri said suddenly. "Let's go bowling tonight."

"Bowling?" Bella asked questioningly. It was such a random suggestion. "Just the two of us?"

"Bowling? I love bowling!" Alice suddenly appeared and sat down on the chair between Bella and Demetri. "Parent teacher conferences are the worse. Parents always think their child is an angel and I'm the devil." Alice went into a rant that consumed the conversation for a while. But eventually it returned to bowling.

Demetri polished off the last of his burger then chugged some root beer. "I was thinking we could go bowling tonight because Bella is lonely."

Alice turned her attention to Bella who was looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Bella, is that true?"

"I suppose." Bella replied hesitantly. "But I'm fine with not going bowling. It is a school night."

Demetri and Alice chuckled at her words. "Right, because we're so concerned about being out late on a 'school night'." Alice nudged her playfully. "I think bowling sounds like a good idea."

"So it's settled then?" Demetri asked hopefully.

Alice nodded enthusiastically and Bella shrugged noncommittally. "What about my daughter, Renesmee? I doubt I'll be able to find a babysitter for her with such late notice."

Demetri made a face at Bella. "We're going bowling, not to the club. Bring her along. It'll be fun."

Bella had no more excuses at her disposal so she reluctantly agreed to go bowling with them.

Later that night, Alice showed Bella her dark red romper. "So what do you think?" Alice struck a pose in her outfit. "Isn't it cute?"

Bella nodded in agreement. "It's nice, but don't you think it's a little weird for Forks weather? They're shorts."

Alice placed a hand on her hip and looked at her painted nails airly. "Bella, fashion has no temperature."

Bella rolled her eyes and watched Renesmee almost pick up an unidentified object lying around Alice's apartment. "No sweetie, don't touch that. It could be infected." Renesmee shrieked and ran back to her mother.

"It's not!" Alice peered at what Renesmee was about to touch and smirked. "It's just sticky."

"Okay, time to go." Bella stood from her seat and took her daughter's hand. "C'mon Alice. Let's go. We told Demetri we would meet him there at 6."

Alice spruced up her hair and checked her makeup. "Alright, let's go."

It didn't take the women long to reach the bowling alley. When they stepped inside, they rented their shoes and found the lane Demetri was saving for them. Unfortunately for Alice, Demetri wasn't alone. Corin was also settled beside him wearing the exact same romper.

"Hey!" Demetri greeted. "Oh wow, you must be twins." He motioned to both Alice and Corin's outfits.

Alice stood next to Corin and smirked. "But I wear it better." she muttered under her breath.

"Not even in your dreams." Corin growled.

While the two women bashed each other quietly, Demetri squatted so that he was eye level with Renesmee. "Hi Renesmee, I'm Demetri."

Renesmee, being a shy child, half hid behind her mother.

Bella smiled down at her daughter then looked at Demetri. "She's just nervous."

Demetri smiled then stood up. "That's alright. I'm sure she'll warm up to me." He winked at the small child then walked over to the bowling machine and punched in everyone's name.

"I love bowling. This will be so fun." Corin grinned when Demetri put her name first. As she walked by Alice to grab her bowling ball, she smirked. "Watch and learn." Corin picked a bright orange ball for herself and rolled it down the lane. She only missed one and during her second try she got a spare.

"Wow! Good job Corin!" Demetri cheered.

Alice leaned over and whispered in Bella's ear. "Why is she even here." Since it was Alice's turn next, she grabbed a purple ball and rolled it down the lane. Alice received a strike and jumped in the air with joy.

Everyone clapped, minus Corin and sent Alice compliments. She looked very proud of herself and made sure to squeeze her body in between Demetri and Corin, separating the two. "Well, I was on the bowling team in high school." she batted her eyes at Demetri and he gave her a funny look. Suddenly her phone vibrated and she looked down to see she had received a text. "Well Max isn't going to be able to make it." She alerted the group. "He's grading papers."

"That sucks." Demetri grumbled.

When it was Renesmee's turn, Bella found her the lightest ball and assisted the small child. "I don't know what to do." she told her mom timidly.

Bella got down on her knees so she was the same height as her daughter. "Well, all you have to do is roll it down the lane. Bella showed her how then kissed her cheek. "Go ahead. If you hit the pins, you get points."

"What if I don't hit the pins?"

Bella shrugged but smiled. "Then you get another chance. But don't worry ok? It's just for fun."

Renesmee leaned down and pushed the ball with two hands so that it slowly rolled down the lane. Everyone watched expectantly as the ball continued down the lane before falling into the gutter.

"Aw mommy it didn't make it."

Bella patted her daughter on the back. "That's okay. You get one more chance." She grabbed the ball when it returned to them and handed it to Renesmee. "Go ahead."

Renesmee rolled the ball again but ended up with the same results. The small child pouted and crossed her arms. "I didn't hit the pins!"

"It's alright. Maybe you'll get it next time." Bella took her small hand and led her back to the seats.

Everyone took their turn in rapid succession and halfway through the game, Demetri ordered a pepperoni pizza and some lemonade for everyone to share. Corin turned out to be a vegetarian so he amended the order and allowed for half the pizza to just be cheese.

"Demetri, it's very nice of you to order food for us." Bella thanked him while passing Renesmee a slice of the food.

"It's no problem." Demetri took a bit of his food and chewed ravenously. "I did invite you all out here. It's only fair."

Alice took a slice of pizza but the cheese slid off almost immediately and landed on her romper. She cursed loudly and Bella threw up her hands in exasperation, pointing at her daughter who looked frightened by Alice's outburst. "Sorry." Alice stood up from her seat. "I'm going to go try to clean myself up in the bathroom."

Before she had gone, Corin set down her food and gave Alice a pitying look. "I have a spare outfit in my car if you want to borrow it." she offered.

Alice didn't have much of a choice. The large stain in her romper was starting to seep through so she agreed quickly and told Corin to meet her in the bathroom.

Once the women had gone, only Bella, Demetri and Renesmee remained. "Poor Alice." Bella murmured. She noticed Renesmee had pizza sauce on the side of her face and grabbed a napkin to wipe it off of her.

"You two look so similar." Demetri commented, motioning to Renesmee. "How old is she?"

Bella smiled and looked at Renesmee. "Do you want to tell him your age?"

Renesmee looked at her mother apprehensively, before turning her attention to Demetri. She placed the half eaten pizza back on her plate and held up four fingers.

"Wow, you look so grown up for four." Demetri complemented.

His words elicited a tiny smile from the child and she finally spoke to him for the first time. "I'll be 5 soon."

Demetri clasped his hands together in excitement. "How nice! Are you going to have a party?"

Renesmee shrugged and poked her mother. "Can I have a party?"

"I have to talk with your dad about that, but we'll see." Bella poured her daughter some more lemonade and passed her the cup.

"Have you spoken with your husband recently?" Demetri asked.

Bella sighed dolefully. Unfortunately for her, Jacob had not called in days. She'd received a few text messages that informed her of how swamped with work Jacob had become. "Not really. But I'm sure he's just so busy from work that he's too tired to call."

Demetri leaned over and placed a hand on the side of her face. "You don't deserve that."

Alice and Corin returned, much to the relief of Bella, and Demetri removed his hand from her face. Alice was carrying her soiled romper and had a disgruntled look on her face. It wasn't hard to figure out why. The outfit Corin had loaned her was quite a sight to see. A long tie-dye T-shirt accompanied zebra hammer pants. Bella had to keep from snickering as Alice looked like she was in agonizing pain. Neither article of clothing was something the woman would wear normally and Bella had a feeling Corin gave her that outfit on purpose.

Alice took a seat between Bella and Demetri and sighed dramatically. "She is really trying to kill my chances with Demetri." Alice whispered to her friend.

Bella nudged her playfully. "Don't worry, I'm sure he thinks you look cute." Bella bit her tongue so she wouldn't laugh, then turned serious. "Besides, I don't think it's Corin who is killing your chances."

Alice sent her an inquisitive look, but Bella didn't get to explain as Demetri passed Alice her bowling ball. "It's your turn Alice!"

The rest of the night there were no more food incidents. Their conversation remained light, but mainly Corin and Alice fought over attention from Demetri. Bella couldn't tell if Demetri noticed, but if he did, he didn't show.

Finally it was the last round. Corin received a strike which put her score a couple higher than Alice, much to the art teacher's chagrin.

When it was Renesmee's last bowl, Bella passed her the ball and wished her luck. Throughout the entire time, Renesmee had not been able to hit a single pin, although she had gotten close quite a few times. When she rolled it, the ball went into the gutter and she frowned. "I don't like this game."

Bella chuckled then passed her the ball when it came back. "Well this is your last roll so it's almost over."

Renesmee leaned down and pushed the ball roughly. It skidded down the lane and ended up knocking over the last pin in the back row. "Mommy! I hit a pin!" A grin spread across her face and she jumped up and down with glee.

"Good job Renesmee!" Bella scooped up her daughter in and sat her on her hip. "See! I knew you could do it."

"Renesmee, you're going to be a pro!" Alice complimented.

"That was amazing." Demetri ruffled her hair and she giggled in response. "Well I see someone has warmed up to me." Demetri winked at Bella whose smile was starting to slip.

Bella put her daughter back on the ground and after the commotion had settled down, everyone compared scores. Demetri came in first, Corin in second with Alice on her heels placing third. Excluding Renesmee who had a score of 1, Bella placed last amongst her colleagues. While she wasn't the worst bowller, her co workers seemed to be exceptionally good. "You all should start a team." she joked after they had cleared the scoreboard.

"That would be fun." Corin commented, looking to Demetri for approval.

"We could call ourselves something funny like the Forked Educators." he snickered at the name then grabbed his jacket, passing Bella and Renesmee there's. "We definitely need to do this again."

"Sounds good to me." Alice responded.

After everyone was situated, they all headed out to the parking lot and parted ways. On the drive home, Renesmee fell asleep in the backseat and Alice chatted about Corin sabotaging her outfit. When Alice took a pause to catch her breath, Bella decided to tell Alice something that had been weighing on her mind.

"I think Demetri likes me." Bella blurted, startling Alice.

The art teacher looked at Bella strangely. "Are you joking?"

Bella shook her head. "He's different around me when nobody's around."

"Why would he like you?" Alice scoffed. Bella took mild offense to this and Alice could tell immediately. "No, Bella you're beautiful. But you're married. He knows that."

"I know. Trust me, I'm not interested in him."

Alice grew quiet and didn't speak for the rest of the trip home. When Bella had parked, Alice exited the car and headed inside the apartment without a word. Bella began to regret telling Alice, but it was too late to take back what she had said at that point. Life was not going in the direction Bella wanted it to. When did everything become so complicated?


	10. What About Us

Chapter 10

 _I thought you said you were different.  
Was that what I heard you say?  
Said that you'd love only me.  
Thought that you'd be all I need.  
~What about us- Brandi_

The following day, Bella dreaded her lunch break. After telling Alice about her suspicions regarding Demetri, she didn't know if Alice was going to berate her, ignore her or anything in between. She hadn't meant to cause this rift in their friendship and it was eating at her. To make matters worse, another day had gone by without a single text or call from Jacob. She knew he was busy with work, but she wanted to hear from him as she missed him dearly. This was the longest they had been apart in six years.

The bell rang and dismissed Bella's class, signaling the start of her lunch break. She didn't want to enter the teachers lounge and cause an awkward silence between herself and Alice, so she decided to have lunch in her classroom. It was something Bella was used to doing as before she became friends with Alice, she rarely conversed with her coworkers and tended to stick to herself.

Today Bella had packed herself a tuna fish sandwich and a orange. Earlier she had purchased a lemonade so she used it to wash everything down. Bella unwrapped her sandwich and grabbed a slice. She brought it to her lips to take a bite but it never reached her mouth.

"Hey Bella!" Alice greeted suddenly, startling Bella into dropping her sandwich into her lap. One slice of bread fell to the floor but most of the filling landed in her lap and dripped down her leg. "Whoops."

Bella looked down at the mess in lap with disgruntlement. She looked up at Alice, semi-distracted by the tuna seeping into her clothes. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but I thought you were mad at me." Bella opened her desk drawer and pulled out several napkins in an attempt to clean herself up.

Alice half sat on the teacher's desk and pursed her lips. "Sorry if I confused you. I wasn't angry at you." Alice narrowed her eyes and Bella froze. "I'm angry at _him_."

Bella managed to clean up most of the tuna and threw away the soiled napkins in the wastebasket by the door. While she was there, she closed the door so that their conversation wouldn't travel into the hall. "I'm sorry Alice. I swear I haven't been leading him on. I'm happy with Jacob." Saying her husband's name aloud had pangs of sadness washing through her. She really missed him and hoped that he would call or text her soon as everytime she tried, he never replied or sent her to voicemail.

"I know Bella. He know you're married, I don't understand why he chose a married woman over a single one." Alice sighed in exasperation and glanced at Bella's outfit. "Sorry about that."

"I'm fine." Bella lied, feeling her pants sticking to her skin. She returned to her seat and looked at Alice seriously. "You will find someone soon, I promise."

Alice waved away Bella's words. "I'm not worried. I already have a date this weekend."

"How lovely." Bella exclaimed in surprise. "With who?"

Alice whipped out her phone and checked through her messages. "His name is Aro. He's 28 and works as a limo driver."

"That's good Alice. I'm happy for you. Is he cute?"

Alice showed Bella a picture of a lanky man with extremely dark hair. He had a mysterious quality to him and Bella thought he looked like a villain from a movie. But she didn't want to insult him so she merely half-smiled at the picture. "Where are you going on the date?"

"He wants to take me to some place in Port Angeles. But I said that's too far. After all, I barely know him. So we're going to Vic's tavern." Alice put away her phone and crinkled her nose. "I hope he's not a weirdo. I'm trying to be nice, so I'm not doing a background check on him."

A knock at Bella's door had the women turning their attention to their visitor. Demetri opened the door and sauntered in with a cheerful grin. "I knew I would find you here." Once he was inside the classroom, he took a seat at one of the desks in front of Bella's own. "What made y'all eat here? Change of scenery?"

Bella and Alice exchanged glances. "Girl talk." Alice replied, then looked down at her phone. "It's almost time for class to start isn't it." She looked at Demetri and his smile fell. "You should probably get a head start to your class."

Demetri looked at the time and his bow furrowed. They still had twenty minutes left until next period. He looked at the women with a strange expression then stood from the desk. "Is something wrong?" he asked hesitantly.

Bella didn't know what to say so she remained quiet. Alice however narrowed her eyes at Demetri. "Do you mind?" she pointed at the door and continued to stare at him pointedly.

Demetri awkwardly removed his body from the desk and shuffled towards the door. "Sorry for bothering you." he left and closed the door on his way.

Bella stared wide-eyed at Alice. "I can't believe you did that. You're so ballsy."

Alice smirked at Bella. "I did it for the both of us." The art teacher sighed and her body seemed to sag. "I should've known he likes you."

"What makes you say that?" Bella questioned.

Alice threw her hands up in exasperation. "He asks about you all the time. I just shrugged it off at the time, but now that I think about it, it's kind of creepy how much he mentions you." Alice looked at her painted nails airly. "Then again, it could just be my jealousy. Gosh he is so hot. Such a waste."

The women chatted amicably for the rest of their break, but eventually it was time for them to teach their classes.

After school had ended and Bella had Renesmee at home, she felt her phone vibrate. She looked down and found a text message from husband. _'Do u luv me no matter wat'_

Bella stared at the message strangely. Jacob didn't normally text like that, but she was so happy to hear from him that she didn't care. _'Of course. Why would you ask that?'_

It didn't take long for a reply and when she received one, her blood ran cold. _'i cheated on u'._

Bella didn't bother with texting him back. She immediately called him and listened to the phone ringing. Her mind was whirling with questions and emotions. How could he do this to her? Why would he cheat? Was he unhappy with their marriage? What was going on? The heartbroken wife didn't receive answers to her questions as Jacob sent her to voicemail. When she was allowed to state a message, Bella tried her very best to remain calm. "Jacob, I know you're there. Please call me back soon. I don't understand what's going on." Her voice began to crack and she knew she had to end the message soon before she started crying. "I love you. Please call me as soon as you can." She hung up quickly then threw the phone away from her fiercely. Bella released an anguished scream and curled up into a ball on the couch.

Not much time had passed when Bella felt something tugging at her arm gently. She looked up with puffy eyes and found her daughter standing in front of her looking distressed. "Mommy what's wrong?"

Bella grabbed her daughter and placed her in her lap. She hugged her intensely and felt Renesmee return the hug with as much vigor as the small child could muster. "Nothing's wrong baby." Bella lied, rocking back and forth with Renesmee. "Mommy just has a boo boo."

Renesmee gasped in horror. "Where mommy? I'mma kiss it better!" When Bella pointed to her cheek, Renesmee leaned forward and kissed her mother's cheek softly. "All better?"

Bella nodded, holding back tears. "All better." She looked at the time and put on her best smile. "It's time for bed sweetie. Let's get you ready." For the rest of the night, Bella was on autopilot. She gave Renesmee a quick bath, had her brush her teeth then even read her a bedtime story before tucking her in for the night. Midnight took his spot on Renesmee's bed, by her feet. After her daughter was asleep, Bella exited the room, closed the door, then took a hot bath for herself. Somewhere deep inside she was hoping that the bath would help calm her, but she felt so lost. Bella ended up staying in the tub until the water turned cold and she became as pruny as a raisin in the hot sun.

The night was long for Isabella Black. Sleep would not befall her as she kept tormenting over the text message her husband had sent her. First, Jacob doesn't contact her for days, then when he did, he sent something to distress her. What hurt the most was that he didn't even tell her verbally. He did it through texts and dodged all her calls. The more Bella thought about it, the more it made sense. Why would Jacob call her when he was cheating on her? The reason she wasn't able to get in touch with him or why he hadn't texted her before was because of this debacle.

The next morning was very hard for Bella. At most, she received three hours of sleep. While she felt weary and sullen, she didn't have work as the weekend had finally arrived. In the state of mind Bella found herself in, she didn't think she would be able to teach her students. The English teacher rarely called off from work, but today would've been a sick day. Her emotions were really taking a toll on her body.

Bella remained in bed for a lengthy period. She drifted in and out of awareness for a long time, never fully falling unconscious with sleep, yet never becoming cognizant either. Her mind remained awhirl with negative thoughts about her life and what was becoming of it. She had tuned out the world and closed herself off to everything around her.

"Bells? Honey?"

A voice called out to the woman, curled up on her bed. She didn't want to answer, she didn't want to move. She just wanted to remain motionless, drifting through her thoughts with carefree abandon.

"Isabella, wake up!"

Her body began to shake and soon she was roused out of her stupor. Bella blinked her eyes rapidly as they began to focus on her room. When she finally seemed to become alert, she sat up in bed slowly and leaned against the headrest. Her father was standing at the side of her bed looking concerned. "Charlie?" she called out quietly. "What are you doing here?"

Charlie crossed his arms and looked down at his daughter sternly. "Isabella, do you have any idea what time it is?"

Bella merely shrugged languidly in response. She did really care what time it was, why Charlie was there or how he got into her house. All she wanted to do was curl back into a ball on her bed and mope.

"Isabella!" Charlie took out his phone and held it up to Bella's face. "It's 8 o'clock...in the evening!"

"So?" Bella responded indifferently. "It's 8. Big deal." She looked at the time again, but with confusion. "Wait is it really 8? Renesmee!" Emotions began stirring inside of Bella. She had essentially been comatose all day, leaving her daughter to fend for herself.

Charlie held up his hands in a calm down demeanor. "Hey, don't worry about Renesmee. She's watching a movie in the living room and eating some ice cream." Charlie took a seat next to Bella on her bed. "Bells, what's going on? I called earlier and Renesmee picks up the phone. She tells me her mommy isn't feeling well and all she has to eat is some dry cereal because she can't reach anything else."

Bella thought of her child forlornly. She leaned against her dad and began to sob impulsively. "I'm sorry Charlie. A lot has been going on." she wiped away her tears and tried to still her shaking hands. "How did you get in?"

Charlie chuckled and threw an arm around Bella. "I'm a police officer Bells. I have skills." His laughter simmered down and he became serious. "What's going on Bella? It's unlike you to shut down like this."

Bella reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone. She turned it on, and was flooded with missed calls from Charlie. After she had cleared away her screen, she showed him the last text Jacob had sent her. "See for yourself."

Charlie took the phone and scanned the message. His face grew rigid and he clenched the phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "I'm going to kill him."


	11. Lonely Town

Chapter 11

 _I'm standing outside your house,_

 _And I'm wondering, baby._

 _Do you hear the phone when I call?_

 _Do you feel the void when I fall?_

 _~Lonely Town- Brandon Flowers_

Charlie comforted his daughter for a long time. He cursed the name of his son-in-law numerous times and managed to improve Bella's mood minutely. After a while, Charlie left to put Renesmee to bed and returned to Bella to inform her that he would be staying the night and sleeping on the couch. He also brought her a poorly made sandwich and told her to eat as she needed sustenance.

After Charlie had gone, Bella poked the sandwich, almost wondering if something were going to crawl out of it. Charlie had never been very good at making food, it was one of the reasons Bella had been a great daughter. She kept him from starving as she provided meals from him. Even now, when she visited, she would make a few meals in advance that would keep in the freezer for weeks. Whenever Charlie would run low on food, he would tell her and she would whip up a new batch. If she neglected to do this, Charlie would eat take out every night.

Bella pushed aside the plate and headed to the bathroom. She was starting to feel numb which was a relief from the crushing heartache. Having no feeling, in her mind, was better than the sorrow. After Bella had relieved her bladder, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her brown hair was disheveled and going every which way. Her face was gaunt and dark circles were etched under eyes. She looked like a recovering drug addict and it displeased her. It didn't help that she was wearing an old T-shirt and some holey pajama bottoms. Right as she made the decision to clean up, her phone began to ring. She didn't even bother to look at the caller ID. Bella brought it to her ear and answered brokenly. "Hello?"

"Bella! I need your help!" Alice's frantic voice screamed into her ear.

Hearing someone else distressed wiped her memory clear of her own problems. "Alice what's wrong?"

"Get away from me!" Alice screamed in the background. Suddenly the click clack of heels running against pavement could be heard. "Bella! Please help me!"

"Where are you?" Bella asked, going into red alert.

Shuffling noises emitted through the phone then Alice's voice became a whisper. "Victoria's Tavern. Please come soon Bella."

"I will be there in ten minutes." Bella told her friend, then hung up the phone and rushed into the living room. "Charlie, I have to go. My friend is in trouble."

Charlie had been slouched on the couch watching the sports channel. "Do you need my gun?" he asked, reaching in the holster to take it out.

Bella shook her head, and he removed his hand. "Please keep an eye on Renesmee." She knew Charlie would and didn't wait for a response. Bella slipped into her rainboots and grabbed a jacket. With her keys in hand, she raced to Jacob's car parked idly in the backyard. It didn't take Bella long to be on the road and she put the pedal to the medal.

It was late. Not many drivers were on the road, which was good because Bella broke several laws on her way to Victoria's Tavern. She rarely stopped at the stop signs and didn't yield for the yellow lights turning red. Instead she sped up and her speedometer showed that she was doing well over the speed limit. But she kept her word to Alice and arrived in ten minutes.

Bella parked in the front of the crowded tavern. It being a Saturday night, she wasn't surprised that it was packed. She exited the car cautiously and scoured the outside of the building for her friend. When she couldn't find her, she pulled out her phone and called Alice. The phone rang and rang but Alice did not pick up. Bella did end up hearing the sound of a ringing phone and followed the noise until she found the source. Bella put away her phone and shuffled through the dense forested area on the side of tavern. She eventually found Alice leaning against a tree, unconscious. "Alice." Bella whispered, sinking to her knees and patting the side of her face gently. "Alice, wake up." When Alice didn't stir, Bella knew she was going to have to carry her to the car.

Unlike Jacob, Bella wasn't ripped with muscles or extreme height. Luckily Alice was shaped like a pixie with her short height and lithe body. Bella leaned down and scooped up her friend. Even though Alice was small, she was still too heavy for Bella to carry her bridal style. So instead she semi dragged Alice back to the parking lot. When Jacob's car was finally in her sight, she noticed a figure walking towards her. It turned out to be a man who looked around Charlie's age. He had long dark hair and a lanky build. When he came across Bella he looked concerned. "Alice?" The man called out cautiously.

Alice was unconscious so there would be no response from her so Bella acted as her mouth. "Who are you?"

"I'm Aro." He pointed at the girl Bella was holding. "I'm her boyfriend."

Bella was taken aback by the man's words. He obviously didn't know that Bella was a friend of Alice and knew that he was lying. "Well, she's not feeling well. So I'm going to take her home." Bella tried to walk around the man, but he stood obnoxiously in the way.

"No, give me my girlfriend. I'm taking her back to my place." Aro reached out as though he were going to snatch Alice from her hands.

Bella turned to the side so that Alice was out of reach. "I don't think so." She narrowed her eyes at the man and felt the tendrils of fear sliding their way up her body. "I'll have her call you in the morning."

Aro made an advancement at Bella and grabbed one of Alice's arms. "Release her." he growled. "I'm taking her home."

"No!" Bella screamed, holding Alice tightly. "I don't know what you did to her, but she is not going home with you!"

Aro's eyes flashed with anger and he released Alice only to strike Bella across her face. The shock from being slapped caused her to drop Alice who crumpled to the ground. Aro looked ready to repeat his actions but a few people exited Victoria's Tavern and began walking towards them.

Bella took that opportunity to draw attention to them. "We don't want to go home with you! Leave us alone!" she shrieked. The group of people had been chatting amicably, upon hearing Bella's words, began to yell obscenities at Aro and run towards them.

"You got lucky this time." Aro snapped before taking off through the parking lot to escape the oncoming crowd.

When the small group reached Bella, they helped her to her feet and transported Alice into the car. "Thank you so much." Bella had tears in her eyes from gratitude. "I don't know what he would've done to us if you hadn't been here to help."

One of the women stepped forward and gave Bella a quick hug. "Some people can be creeps. Get home safe dear." The group wished her well, then Bella took off out of the parking lot.

Bella glanced over at her unconscious friend when they were stopped by a red light and sighed. "You need to be careful who you date." She happened to notice a small brown car behind her and wondered where the person was going. As Bella drove down the street and made various turns, she noticed that the car remained behind her. "Are you following me?" She muttered under her breath, deciding to take a random left. The car made the same left. Bella wanted to chalk it up to coincidence and made another left. Then another until she had made a complete circle around the block only to find that the car was still behind her. As she took a closer look behind her, she realized she recognized the driver as Aro, the man who had assaulted her and potentially drugged Alice. Bella cursed under her breath and began to pick up speed. She didn't want to lead the man to their home so she continued to drive in circles trying to get rid of him. But Aro was relentless and would not be deterred.

Jacob's car continued down the street and Bella switched gears as she sped up when they reached an endless street with no breaks. She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw his little car a few yards behind them. Bella grabbed the clutch and switched into a faster gear, putting the pedal to the medal. She was going to escape the psycho if it was the last thing she did.

The car sped down the street and Bella really pushed it, going faster and faster. She made a sharp turn when she finally reached the end of the street and made various twists and turns, trying her best to lose Aro. When she was a block from their home, she pulled into a random driveway and turned off the car. Sinking low into her seat, she peered out of the back window, breathing shallowly. As she suspected, Aro's car came flying down the street a few seconds later. After his car had gone, she sighed in relief and felt her heart racing. "Well that was enough fun for one night." She muttered to herself.

Bella didn't want to chance Aro finding them, so she decided to wait before going back on the road. After a half hour of sitting in a random person's driveway, she finally gathered enough courage to restart the car and head home. Bella pulled out of the driveway carefully and drove the rest of the way home cautiously. She was thankful that Aro seemed to be long gone and when she pulled into the apartment's driveway, she claimed her usual spot in the back.

Alice remained unconscious throughout the duration of the ride and Bella sighed. She'd heard of date-rape drugs and how they could render someone unconscious and depending on the drug, the person wouldn't even remember anything the next day. Bella removed the seat belt from Alice's body, then searched her pockets for the keys to her apartment. She found them quickly and saw that they were attached to her car key. She made a mental note to take Alice to retrieve her car that had been abandoned at the tavern.

It didn't take long for Bella to transport Alice from the car to her apartment. Bella moved as quickly as she could as she didn't want even the slightest chance of Aro appearing while they were outside their home. Once the women were in Alice's apartment, Bella laid her friend in bed and removed her shoes. She placed Alice's keys on her crowded nightstand then exited the apartment, making sure to lock the door on her way out.

When Bella returned to her own apartment, she found Charlie passed out on the couch with the TV on. She turned it off then grabbed a spare blanket from her room and covered her father. She couldn't begin to express to him how grateful she was for his presence and went to her room feeling just a bit better.

The next day, to thank her father, Bella went shopping for some food that she would cook for Charlie that would keep for a while. It had been a few weeks since she last cooked for him and she was sure that by now he had run out of leftovers and was eating take out everyday. Bella spent the whole day cooking and it relaxed her immensely. While she cooked, Charlie and Renesmee watched old Disney movies and Midnight occasionally barked happily.

Bella smiled at the last dish she had cooked, then wrapped the tuna noodle casserole in aluminum foil, and set it on the island alongside the four other dishes she had made for Charlie including a soup, casserole, pot pie and lasagna. "Don't forget to eat the pot pie first as the others keep longer." She told him before giving Charlie a hug. "Thank you so much for being here for me. I really needed you."

Charlie embraced his daughter tightly then kissed her forehead. "I'll always be here for you Bells. Are you going to be ok?"

"I think so." She responded honestly. "For now I'm just going to focus on the present and work out my feelings when my husband returns."

"Sounds like a plan." Charlie stacked the dishes on top of each other, then grabbed them. "I'm going to be eating good tonight!" He grinned at his daughter before exiting the apartment.

After Charlie had gone, Bella locked the door, but not five minutes later she heard a knock. Figuring Charlie forgot something, she opened the door with a smile on her face. "Did you forget something?" The smile was wiped from Bella's face when she found Jacob dripping wet standing in the hallway with a big cheeky grin on his face. His luggage lay at his feet and he took a step forward to capture Bella's lips with his own.

"Oh how I've missed you." He murmured against her mouth. Shock resonated across Jacob's face as he felt a hard slap across his cheek. He was rendered speechless at the act, and looked at his wife with bewilderment.

"How could you cheat on me?!" Bella screamed.


	12. As Long As You Love Me

Chapter 12

 _As long as you love me,_

 _We don't have to be together 24/7._

 _As long as you love me,_

 _I'm in heaven._

 _~As Long As You Love Me- Caleb Johnson_

Jacob gaped at his wife and his arms hung limply at his sides. "What?"

Bella stood with her fists clenched and a livid expression painted across her face. She looked ready to either tear into Jacob or slam the door in his face. Luckily for Jacob, Bella didn't have time to act upon any of her feelings. The door across the hall creaked open and she noticed Caius peeking from behind the door nosily. She cursed quietly, then opened the door and allowed Jacob to enter their home.

Her husband didn't waste any time in grabbing his things and scurrying inside. Once the door was closed, Jacob locked it and dropped his luggage haphazardly on the floor. "Bella I,"

Bella held up a hand and Jacob stopped talking. "First, you don't text or call for days. Then when you finally do it's to tell me that you…" Bella narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her. "Why? It's the one thing I can't come to terms with. Why would you cheat on me?"

"Bella!"

Bella poked him in his chest angrily. "Is it because I'm not pretty to you anymore?"

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure to see." Jacob caressed the side of her face, but she turned it away from him.

"Are you unhappy with us?" She muttered, almost so lowly that he didn't hear her.

Jacob made an incredulous face that was missed by his wife. "No, of course not!"

"Do you not love me anymore?" She screamed, closing her eyes with emotion. Jacob grabbed her by her arms and drew her close. When she opened her eyes, his face was somber and gaunt. He was mere inches from her face and she thought that he was going to kiss her so she pulled back causing his face to sag with sorrow.

"Isabella, I did not cheat on you." Jacob released Bella from his grip but moved his hands to her shoulders. "I don't know why you think I did, but I would never cheat on the woman I love."

Bella wanted to believe him but she remembered the text. "Maybe you were drunk and you don't remember." she reached into her pocket and pulled out the evidence. It didn't take long for her to pull up the message and she waved it in Jacob's face. "Then what is this?"

Jacob plucked the phone from Bella's hand and squinted at the tiny screen. At first he said nothing, then he chuckled quietly and handed the phone back to Bella. "I didn't send that." he told her softly.

"And why should I believe you?" Bella snapped.

"Well, one, I don't text like that." Jacob tilted Bella's chin up gently so that he could look into her eyes. "Two, I lost my phone days ago which is why I haven't been able to contact you." He leaned in close and rested his forehead against hers. "And three, why would you believe a text over what I'm saying right now."

Bella could hear the sincerity in her husband's voice and felt a tremendous weight being lifted off of her shoulders. "So you didn't cheat on me?"

"Never." Jacob opened his arms and slowly embraced his wife. "I love you too much Bella." When she accepted his hug, he rocked her side to side. "Whoever stole my phone has a sick sense of humor." He kissed her forehead sweetly and continued to hold her. "I can't believe you thought that I cheated on you. Are you okay?"

Bella thought about the past couple of days and her physical shutdown. If Charlie had not come, who knows where she would be. Would she have been able to help Alice in her time of need? She hadn't even left her room for her own daughter. Feelings of guilt swarmed Bella and she held on to her husband tighter. "I'm fine now." She told him honestly. "It's so good to see you Jacob." After Bella removed herself from her husband's embrace, she sent him an inquisitive look. "So you lost your phone?"

Jacob nodded ruefully. "Yeah, I think I dropped it when I was helping take stock and one of the employee's must've taken it." Jacob shrugged as though it were no big deal.

"And why didn't you get a new phone or call me from the hotel?"

Jacob scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well I kept hoping I would find my phone. But I guess now I have no choice but to buy a new one. And for some odd reason, the hotel wouldn't let me make out of state calls." Jacob scowled in remembrance. "But if I had known you were going to worry so much, I would've definitely bought a new phone asap."

Bella could tell that Jacob was telling the truth, and was very happy to be able to put the past couple of days behind her. If there was one thing Renee had taught her about men growing up, it was that sometimes they were clueless about things and often made mistakes. But she had forgiveness in her heart and was too pleased to have him return home to hold a grudge.

A week had gone by since Jacob had returned home. Bella felt more comfortable about everything with her husband by her side. He had also taken a shine to Midnight and had taken over the duties of walking the pup. Poop was no longer left as presents throughout the home and for that, Bella was grateful. She also didn't receive any unwanted phone calls from Edward which helped keep her anxiety under control. The only problem Bella seemed to be having was that she couldn't get in touch with Alice. After what had happened at the tavern, she had hoped that Alice would recover soon. But she had been missing from work and when Bella stopped by her apartment, no one answered. She was growing more worried about her, but Jacob reassured her often that she was okay.

"You said it yourself, when you asked the secretary, she had called off work. So clearly she's alive and just taking some time off of work." Jacob stirred the pot of spaghetti he was cooking and reached for the garlic.

Bella watched with disdain as he dumped more than enough minced garlic into the pot and stirred happily. The apartment always smelled so strongly for days after Jacob cooked that Bella sometimes joked he did it to ward off any vampires. "It's just so unlike her to not contact me. Especially after what happened." Bella noticed Jacob reaching for the garlic again and she slyly moved it out of his reach. "So you really lost your phone?"

Jacob glanced at his wife with a stoic face. "Are you going to bring that up everyday?"

Bella shrugged noncommittally. "I mean, it just seems so unfortunate that you would lose it when you were away."

"I know. If I had thought someone was going to steal it, I would've stuck it in my bra like you do." Jacob waggled his eyebrows and Bella shoved him playfully.

"Shut up." She smiled to take the bite from her words. "I really missed you." Bella stood behind her husband and wrapped her arms around his torso.

Jacob leaned back into her and rubbed his but against her crotch. "Jeez Bella, since when did you become so sexual?"

"Jacob!" Bella removed herself from behind her husband and couldn't help laughing at his antics. Sometimes he could be such a jokester. It was one of the reasons she loved him so much. "Quit playing before Renesmee accidentally overhears. Remember what happened last time?"

Her husband scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he recalled the incident. "Well at least now she thinks a horndog is a dog that plays the french horn. Things could be worse. At least she didn't hear us talking about a-"

"If you finish that sentence I will kill you." Bella narrowed her eyes at Jacob and placed her hands on her hips. "She's right there." Bella didn't take her eyes off of Jacob but pointed at the entryway of the kitchen where Renesmee was standing with a lollipop in her hand looking at her parents curiously. The small child left without a word and soon Midnight was racing through the hall to find the child. "You are going to have her saying weird things at school again." Bella whisper-yelled at her husband.

Jacob grabbed Bella around by her waist and brought her close to his body. "I've missed you too." He told her sincerely, kissing her passionately on the lips.

Bella stretched to her full height so she could wrap her arms around his neck. The kiss deepened and she felt Jacob lift her up, so she wrapped her legs around his waist. Jacob pulled back and trailed kisses down her neck. "Jacob." Bella practically purred. "We can't do this right now. Renesmee is in the other room."

Jacob sighed against Bella's chest and slowly lowered his wife to the floor. "Fine. But maybe later after we put her to bed we can…" Jacob left the question in the air for Bella who merely turned away with a blush covering her face.

"We'll see." she cheekily murmured. Bella returned to Jacob's side as he continued cooking the spaghetti and she saw him looking for something. When he couldn't find it, he returned to stirring the spaghetti.

Jacob tasted the spaghetti and turned to his wife. "Do you think this has enough garlic? I can never tell." Jacob held out the wooden spoon towards his wife that was dripping sauce.

Bella felt as though her nose hairs were being singed from how much garlic emitted off of the spoon. "I think you're good." She told him without tasting. Instead she kissed his cheek and exited the kitchen. "I'm going to get the mail." She told her husband as she left the apartment and headed downstairs where the mailboxes were located. While grabbing her mail from the slot, she ran into Maggie, the elderly woman who lived with her husband across from Alice. Maggie and her husband were rarely seen outside of their apartment and sometimes Bella wouldn't see her for weeks. "Afternoon Maggie." She greeted after grabbing her mail.

It would seem that Maggie had the same intention and reached around Bella to capture her own mail. The older woman was shorter than Bella by nearly a foot. Her plump body and white hair reminded Bella of Mrs. Claus and since the woman was always so kind to her, it just reinforced the notion.

"Hello Isabella." Maggie greeted sweetly. Maggie was just short enough that the mailbox was out of reach and she had to stand on her tip toes to reach inside.

Bella took pity on the woman and helped her by reaching inside and giving her the mail. "Here you go Maggie."

Maggie took the mail and sent Bella a grateful smile. "Why don't you stop by for tea, dear. I have a pot brewing." Maggie didn't give Bella a chance to turn down her offer as she shuffled towards her home. She held the door open for Bella who reluctantly entered the apartment.

Bella had never actually seen the inside of Maggie's place. The apartment had strange aroma of peppermint and moth balls. China cabinets were stacked against almost every wall and were filled with knick knacks and various pictures of who Bella could only assume to be Maggie's family. Technology was lost on the elderly woman as the only thing Bella could see from this century was a telephone hanging on the wall and a radio.

Maggie led Bella through the living room and into the kitchen which had more pictures of Maggie's family. Bella took a seat in the dining room and found mounds of yarn stacked neatly against the half wall with different size knitting needles poking through man of the skeins. "So you like to knit I see?" Bella asked when she noticed the tablecloth laying across the dining room table was made of yarn.

"I do." Maggie told her, placing a cup filled with hot tea in front of Bella. "But the tablecloth was crochet." Maggie smiled then brought over some milk and sugar. "Would you like some?"

"Yes please." Bella helped herself to the sugar while Maggie poured a dash of milk into her tea. "Thank you." Bella sipped the tea and found it to be the pleasant taste of peppermint.

Maggie sipped her tea gently and turned her attention to Bella. "So how are you dear? How have things been at the school?"

"My kids can be a handful." Bella laughed as she recalled an instance that happened during the week involving a critical debate over the main character of the book they were reading. She went into depth when describing what had happened to Maggie. "I just couldn't believe they were comparing her to the queen of England. They had such valid points that I let them lead the discussion until the end of class." Bella smiled and looked into her nearly empty cup of tea. "I'm so happy I became a teacher. The workload can be a bit much, but it can be really rewarding."

"Your classes sound lovely." Maggie had finished her tea during Bella's story and had grabbed one of her skeins of yarn and began knitting. "How's the husband?"

Bella remembered the couple weeks Jacob had been gone and how she had spent a couple days almost comatose because of heartbreak when she thought he had cheated on her. "We're doing much better."

"Better? What had happened?" Maggie paused in her knitting and sent Bella a concerned stare. "Are you okay?"

"We just had a miscommunication that caused issues." Bella tried to steer the conversation away from her problems and Maggie took the hint and didn't pry.

The elderly woman continued knitting but focused her attention on Bella. "Communication is key in a strong relationship. It's how Liam and I have stayed in love for the past 50 years." Maggie smiled fondly at thoughts of her husband.

"That's a long time." Bella downed the last of her tea and set it off to the side. "Where is Liam?"

Maggie pointed toward the bedroom. "He's in the room taking a nap. We're going to a week long festival in California. Our plane leaves in a couple hours so he's preparing himself."

"What festival is it?" Bella asked curiously.

"It's some kind of music festival." Maggie shrugged and glanced down at her needles. "Oh darn I missed a stitch." she murmured. After Maggie had set aside her knitting, she returned her attention to Bella. "We go to so many festivals and things it's hard to keep track. I don't like staying in this apartment too long. I like to travel. And who knows how many years I have left on this earth."

Bella reached out patted the top of Maggie's hand. "Don't think like that. I'm sure you have many years left."

A soft laugh escaped Maggie's thin lips. "I don't fear death, Isabella. When it is my time to go, I will gladly depart this place. But until that day, I want to enjoy the rest of my time here doing things I was too afraid to do when I was younger. Do you know we went sky diving a last year?"

"Really?" Bella couldn't imagine the elderly woman in front of her, jumping out of a plane. "What else have you done?"

Maggie shared her bucket list with Bella and told her about things she and her husband had completed. "We may be old, but I feel like I'm your age." Maggie paused for a moment then an idea came to her. "My grandson has a second home in California. Maybe I can get him to visit Liam and I."

"And you can stay in the home instead of a hotel." Bella suggested.

"True." There was movement in the other room and Maggie glanced at the cuckoo clock hanging on her wall. "Well I need to finish packing." She looked at Bella as she stood up slowly from the table. "Thank you for entertaining an old woman, Isabella."

Maggie led Bella to the front door and unlocked it for the brunette. "Have fun at your festival Maggie." Bella half waved before stepping out of the apartment.

"We will. You must stop by again some time." Maggie suggested before returning the wave and closing the door to her apartment.

As Bella left she walked by Alice's apartment and decided to test her luck with knocking on the door. She knocked a few quick raps then listened for a response. When she received none, she turned to head up the stairs. Just as her foot touched the first stair, the door to Alice's apartment creaked open and a lone figure peered out eerily. "Who is it?" called out a sharp voice that didn't belong to Alice.

Bella returned to the doorway that was only cracked open and she could just make out the figure of a woman behind the door. "Uh hi." Bella greeted nervously. "Is Alice here?"

"She's dead." The woman snapped before slamming the door shut.

 **A/N: Got lost in the week...I thought yesterday was Friday. Sorry for the late update. Anywho, wow! Some of y'all were really in a tiff about the previous chapter lol. While I appreciate any and all reviews (seriously, they make my day no matter how long or short), I wish y'all would review through your accounts so I can respond properly. But regardless, I shall respond now.**

 _Megan39-_ **If someone has drugs/ date-rape drugs in their system, your body will naturally flush it out. You only go to the hospital if you have been sexually assaulted or if you have an allergic reaction (rare). Since Bella was able to retrieve Alice before she could be assaulted, it was okay for her to merely take her home and allow her to sleep it off. Also, Bella wasn't in the best state of mind when she left to get Alice, (the Jacob debacle) so her behavior might seem a tad erratic and confusing. I'll try my best to eliminate as much confusion as possible but there will always be an air of mystery with the characters so bear with me. I hope this helped and thanks for the review!**

 _Sarah88-_ **You're very intuitive and I'm sure you're going to be able to predict a few things that are going to happen throughout my story. I look forward to your future reviews and I hope you stay enthralled!**


	13. Secrets

Chapter 13

 _They tell us from the time we're young,_

 _To hide the things that we don't like about ourselves._

 _Inside ourselves._

 _I know I'm not the only one_

 _Who spent so long attempting to be someone else._

 _Well I'm over it._

 _~Secrets- Mary Lambert_

Bella gaped at the closed door of Alice's apartment. The woman had just told her that Alice was dead and she couldn't believe it. Bella felt crippled with emotion and didn't know what to do.

"Who was that?" A muffled voice asked.

"Some pale chick. But I sent her away."

The light patter of feet could be heard before the door swung open all the way and Alice stood looking very much alive. Albeit, the normally spiky haired girl had her hair flattened and a dark circles under her eyes. As Bella looked closer, she noticed that Alice wasn't wearing any makeup and had on sweatpants. Alice _never_ wore sweatpants. "Bella? What are you doing here?" Alice asked lightly, standing casually against the door frame.

"Alice!" Bella took a step forward and noticed that her sudden movement startled the woman. "Where have you been? It's been a week. And who is that?" Bella gestured to the woman scowling at Bella from inside the apartment. "Why did she tell me you were dead? Nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Alice glanced back at the woman and stuck out her tongue childishly. "That's my sister, Lucy. She can be crass sometimes."

Bella was taken aback when Lucy flipped her the bird. The woman was much taller than Alice and even Bella. She had long blond hair that cascaded down her shoulders, curling at the ends. She had an athletic build and aside from her taste in clothes, Bella couldn't see the similarity linking them as sisters. "Why did she say you were dead?"

Alice covered her eyes with her arm dramatically. "I feel dead."

"What's going on?" Bella asked confused.

Alice invited Bella inside then closed and locked the door. "I never got to thank you for saving me from that lunatic." Alice suddenly remembered. "Thank you Bella."

Bella followed Alice to the cluttered couch and took a seat beside her. "What happened last week?"

"Well," Alice fidgeted uncomfortably. "I went on that date with Aro, against my better judgment. I should've done a background check on him." Alice sighed theatrically. "I knew something was off about him when he kept asking me weird questions like, what products do I use in my hair and what's my shoe size. I thought I would be safe at the tavern, but he must've slipped something in my drink. I started feeling weird so I told him I was going to the bathroom and then I tried to leave and I remember calling you but then everything is a blur." Alice looked down at her hands and fiddled with them nervously. "That's when things went downhill. I woke up in the worst pain imaginable. I thought I was dying."

"You were Mary, you were." Lucy interjected from her spot sitting atop the arm of the couch. "Mary had a bad reaction to whatever drug Aro put in her drink and it caused her liver to explode."

"My liver didn't explode! It was my appendix." Alice clarified. "I guess before I went to the tavern I had appendicitis and the drug just made it worse. Well, my appendix needed to be removed and I called Lucy because an ambulance costs $300 and I don't have that kind of money right now." Alice lifted up her t-shirt and showed Bella the small scar across her abdomen. "I'm going back to work Monday, but for now, the doctors told me to take it easy."

"Tell her about the hospital." Lucy prompted, pulling out a nail file and sanding down a jagged nail. "I think you should call the police because this is going to get out of hand."

Alice sighed heavily and turned her attention to Bella was staring at her intensely. "Well, somehow Aro found out I was at the hospital. I don't know how, but he did. He even lied and told the hospital he was my uncle so that he could have visitation privileges." Alice shuddered at the thought then continued with her tale. "He brought me flowers and balloons and told me he loved me. Said we were destined to be together. What did I do to deserve this?"

"Moving on, I took care of him." Lucy said casually still filing away at her nails.

Bella cocked a brow at Lucy. "What do you mean you _took care of him_? What did you do?"

Lucy glanced up from her incessant nail filing and sent Bella a smile that disturbed her. "I have my ways. Don't let my beauty fool you. I am dangerous."

Alice reclaimed Bella's attention with an apologetic smile. "She's married to a man who knows karate or something and he beat up Aro and told him that if he came within 10 feet of me, he would break his arm. So hopefully that's the last of him I'll be seeing."

"Well I'm happy you're alright. But isn't karate a self defense martial art? You can't attack someone using it. It goes against the code." Bella almost wished she hadn't said anything because of the look Lucy was giving her.

"So, what, we're supposed to let that asshat harass my sister?" Lucy growled. "I don't think so."

Alice held up her hands in defense. "It's alright Lucy. Bella didn't mean it that way."

"Whatever." Lucy stood from the couch and leaned down to give Alice a hug. "If you need anything else Mary, I'm a phone call away."

"Thanks for everything Lucy." Alice returned the hug with as much vigor as she could muster without hurting herself.

After Lucy had gone, Bella felt more relaxed. "It's so weird to hear someone call you Mary."

"It's weird for me too. But my family has always ignored my wishes to go by my middle name." Alice ran a hand over her abdomen gently. "So has Jacob returned?"

Bella smiled softly and leaned back against the couch. "He came back after I picked you up from the tavern." Bella sighed heavily. "Can you believe someone stole his phone? It's why I wasn't able to get into contact with him for so long."

"Why didn't he get a new phone?" Alice asked confused.

"Well he said he was really busy. But he was issued a new phone from the company. So all's well that ends well I guess."

Bella and Alice chatted amicably for a while, but after an hour, Bella returned to her garlic infused apartment. Jacob had long since finished cooking and Bella made a mental note to save Alice a plate as she was in love with Jacob's spaghetti.

Upon entering the apartment, Bella found Jacob talking to someone on the house phone. His brow was furrowed in contemplation so she didn't disturb him. Her daughter was absent from the living room, which could only mean the child was in her room. Bella opened the door to Renesmee room and began speaking. "Renesmee, do you want to...Renesmee?" Bella looked through the room quickly but didn't see any sight of her daughter. She backed out of the room and checked the bathroom only to find it vacant. "Renesmee?" Bella called while leaving the bathroom and checking her own bedroom. Bella soon found her legs racing through the apartment in search of her daughter. When she wound up in the living room once more, Jacob had just finished his call and she gave him a panicked look. "Where's Renesmee?"

Jacob pointed towards their daughter's bedroom. "Isn't she in her room?"

"No! She isn't!"

Jacob smacked his head theatrically. "Oh that's right. She's in the backyard, playing with Midnight. I totally forgot."

Bella placed a hand over her fast beating heart. "Jacob! I was worried half to death!" Bella stormed to the apartment door, but was stopped by her husband grabbing her around the waist. "Let go of me." Bella demanded.

Jacob complied to her wishes but turned her around so they could face each other. "I'm sorry Bella."

Bella took a couple deep breaths to calm her nerves. "What if Caius see's her? He'll report us to the landlord because we have that dog."

"Caius is at work. He won't be back until we're asleep."

"He has a job?" Bella asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I overheard him talking about it once." Jacob shrugged.

Bella unlocked the door and held it open. "You know you have to keep an eye on your children when they're outside right? She's only four, Jacob."

"We only have one kid." Jacob responded, then waggled his eyebrows. "Unless you want to try for another one." He nipped at her ear and Bella pushed him away playfully. "Besides, she's nearly five and I think she knows the rules by now." When Bella sent him a fierce glare, he held up his hands in submission. "But you're right. Let's go get her."

The pair exited the apartment and found their daughter playing with Midnight in backyard, just like Jacob had said. When Bella had gone shopping for food for Midnight, she had also picked up a few toys. One included a bone shaped chew toy that Renesmee was throwing across the yard, and the pup was fetching merrily. "Renesmee." Bella walked over to her child who looked up at her expectantly. "Having fun?"

"Yes mommy!" Renesmee giggled when Midnight dropped the toy at her feet and barked. She picked up the toy and threw it again, only to have Midnight dashing away to retrieve it.

Bella smiled down at her child, relieved that she was safe. "Well I think it's time we head back inside. What do you think?"

Renesmee pouted but nodded in agreement. "Well okay." When Midnight returned the toy to her, she picked it up and petted the dog on his head. "C'mon Midnight, let's go inside."

The rest of the weekend went by casually and soon Monday was upon them. Jacob woke up first and nuzzled into the crook of his wife's neck. "Morning love." he trailed light kisses across her neck until he reached her soft lips. "Time for another day of teaching lousy kids." He joked.

Bella smiled into the kiss and after hearing Jacob's words, she opened her eyes slowly. "They're not so bad. The kids of today will be the adults of tomorrow." She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "It's our jobs as teachers to educate them so the world doesn't suffer."

"Well I'm glad you love your job so much." Jacob gave her one more quick kiss then hopped out of the bed. His naked rear stood brazenly in the room and Bella couldn't help admiring his plump bottom.

"I didn't realize you slept naked last night." Bella commented.

Jacob faced his wife, demurely covering his front. "Well I thought we were going to have some fun after I gave Nessie a bath and put her to bed, but you were asleep by the time I got into bed."

Bella rolled her eyes and noticed parts of Jacob peeked out at her from behind his large hand. "You seem primed and ready for right now." Bella teased, gesturing to what Jacob was trying to hide.

"I can't help it." Jacob removed his hand and looked down. "It's morning and I had a _nice_ dream last night."

Bella laughed and threw a pillow at her husband. "Go take a cold shower!" After Jacob had gone, Bella headed into the kitchen in her pajamas and whipped up a quick breakfast consisting of oatmeal and toast. When breakfast was hot and ready, Jacob entered the kitchen clean and dressed for work.

"I woke Renesmee and she's getting dressed." Jacob told his wife while preparing himself and his daughter a bowl of the oatmeal.

"Oh good. Now I can get dressed." Bella left the kitchen, took a quick shower then dressed in her normal teaching attire. It was nice to have her family back together and she felt more comfortable than she had since he had gone. Monday was starting off well and she hoped it would continue.

Unfortunately for Bella, this didn't happen to be the case. Since Alice had been cleared to come back to work, she stopped by Bella's classroom and dragged the woman to the teacher's lounge where Demetri was eating his lunch. Before they entered, Bella gave Alice a confused look. "What?" Alice asked, just as confused as the look on Bella's face.

"Why do you want to eat here? I thought we were avoiding Demetri."

Alice peered into the lounge and then looked back at Bella. "We are, but I like the lounge. Plus, I've moved on. I think I met a guy. I'll tell you more about him in here." Alice held open the door and Bella reluctantly entered.

The pair grabbed the table farthest from Demetri who looked at the duo sadly. When the women had taken their seats, they pulled out their lunches. Alice had brought some leftover spaghetti that Bella had given her and began to eat it cold, much to the disdain of her friend. Meanwhile Bella had a caesar salad. "So you met a guy?"

"Oh right. I did meet a guy!" Alice's voice was unusually loud and Bella glanced over at Demetri who was covertly watching them. "Well, 'met' might be the wrong word. Right now we're just internet friends."

"Oh you met him online?"

"Yes." Alice took a bite of her spaghetti before continuing. "He's super sweet and even seemed genuinely concerned about my surgery."

"Surgery?"

Both women looked up when Demetri was suddenly at their table. "You had surgery? Are you okay?" Demetri took a seat next to Alice and focused all of his attention on her.

Alice briefly exchanged glances with Bella. "Yeah, my appendix needed to be removed." She old him honestly.

"Oh. Well that's a common surgery." Demetri seemed mollified by Alice's answer. "I was wondering why you weren't here."

"Well mystery solved." Alice spoke monotonously.

Demetri fiddled with his hands on top of the table. "I've been meaning to ask you both something." He paused and looked at them nervously. "Did I do something to offend you? I thought we were friends and now I'm having second thoughts."

Alice narrowed her eyes and dropped her fork. "I think you know why. Don't act coy."

Demetri exhaled heavily and his shoulders sagged. "How did you find out?" he asked quietly.

"You make it obvious." Alice snapped and Bella placed a hand on Alice's arm to calm her down.

"I don't know how you found out, but I didn't think I made it obvious." Demetri looked up at the women brokenly.

Bella was starting to feel bad for him but Alice seemed to hold on to her anger. "Lusting after a colleague is despicable."

"I would never act on my feelings." Demetri told her honestly. "Please don't tell him."

"Him? Him who?" Alice asked suspiciously.

Demetri looked into Alice's eyes with a heavy blush adorning his face. "Max."

Bella and Alice were thoroughly confused by what Demetri was saying. "What are you talking about?" Bella finally asked, breaking the awkward silence that had befallen the teachers.

"Don't tell Max that I like him." Demetri murmured. "I don't know how you found out, but please keep it between us. I'm pretty sure he's straight and I don't want him to judge me."

Alice had been stunned into silence so Bella voiced what was on both of their minds. "You're gay?"

Demetri nodded slowly, brows knitting together in bewilderment. "Yes. Isn't that why don't want to be friends anymore? You're homophobic." Demetri sighed. "I thought this place would be different. It's why I moved from my last school."

Bella couldn't help laughing at the situation. "Demetri, we didn't know that you were gay." Bella told him honestly. "But I personally don't care, and if you want to keep it a secret, it's safe with me."

Alice nodded slowly, agreeing with everything Bella was saying.

"Thanks." Demetri smiled at the women but just as quickly it fell into a frown. "Wait, if you weren't upset because I like Max, then why were you angry with me?"

Bella and Alice laughed awkwardly. "Well at this point it just seems silly." Alice grumbled. "We thought you had a crush on Bella."

 **A/N: Since I accidentally posted a day late last week, I thought I would post a day early this week. I hope y'all are enjoying the story! Thanks for reviews/alerts/favs!**


	14. It Sounds Like Life To Me

Chapter 14  
 _Sounds like life to me it ain't no fantasy._

 _It's just a common case of everyday reality._

 _Man I know it's tough but you gotta suck it up._

 _To hear you talk you're caught up in some tragedy._

 _~It sounds like life to me- Darryl Worley_

The mystery of Demetri's crush on Bella had been solved. Bella and Alice both felt extremely silly for having thought that the man had a crush on Bella. It turned out that he had a crush on Max, and the reason he wanted all of them to go out so often was because he wanted an excuse to spend time with Max. Even though Max seemed to only show interest in women, Demetri enjoyed his company and merely admired him from afar, keeping his crush a secret. Bella thought back to all those times she had assumed that Demetri had liked her and realized her imagination had grossly exaggerated Demetri's actions and intentions.

Alice seemed very relieved to find out that Demetri was gay. "It just makes sense now." She said aloud as Bella graded her papers at Alice's dining room table. "He didn't choose you, an unavailable married woman, over me, an attractive single."

Bella glanced up from her paper and gave Alice a look. "It's been over a week since you found out he was gay and you're still going on about this?" Bella returned to grading her papers and wrote a B+ at the top of the paper. "Besides, I'm attractive."

"Of course you are Bella." Alice patted her on the back. "But you're not single."

"Whatever happened to that internet guy? What was his name? Mazz? Pazz?"

"Jazz." Alice stated simply. "Things are going well. He's definitely expressed interest in me."

"Well that's good right?" Bella set the graded paper to the side and grabbed her final one. "Maybe he's your soulmate."

Alice removed herself from the table she had been sitting atop. "I suppose. He's been acting weird though."

Bella scanned the essay and sighed. "I'm tired. This person is also getting a B." She didn't even bother reading the essay but marked a B in her red pen at the top of the page. "How has he been acting weird?"

Alice sighed dramatically and flopped her body against Bella. "Sometimes when I ask him about parts of his life, he dodges the question or redirects it. I'm starting to think that he doesn't like me as much as I like him."

"Aw Alice, I'm sorry." Bella stacked her papers into a neat pile, then removed herself from the table. "Well if he's not the one, ditch him. There are plenty of fish in the sea and men in the world."

"I guess." Alice walked Bella to the door and held it open for her. "I'm going to ask him on date. Since he won't take the intuitive, I will. I can't figure why he wouldn't want to meet me." Alice gestured to her immaculate attire. "I look good dammit. He better not be catfishing* me."

"I hope everything works out well for you Alice." Bella left Alice's apartment and entered her own. Jacob was on the phone and Bella had a severe case of deja vu. Over a week ago Jacob had been on the house phone with the same expression. She had meant to ask who called, but had been distracted when she couldn't find Renesmee. Bella put away her graded papers then waited for Jacob's phone call to end. "Who was that honey?"

Jacob looked at his wife with an unreadable expression. "The company isn't paying me for my time at Filmores when I was in South Carolina."

Bella was shocked to hear this news. "What do you mean? You earned that money."

Jacob's fist clenched together and he hit it against the couch in frustration. "There's been some error or mix up. They think they paid me already but I haven't received any money!"

Bella wrapped an arm around Jacob's neck and tried to draw him to her body. "It'll be okay Jake."

Jacob shrugged off his wife's arm and stood from the couch. "No it isn't Bella! We needed that money!" Jacob tore at his hair and began to pace. "When we went to Seattle that weekend, I spent a lot of money. I know we ran into your friends and they gave us that hotel room, but I had already rented a room and it was nonrefundable." Jacob lowered his voice and turned away from his wife. "Then there's your car that still seems to be in the shop. This isn't good!"

It wasn't like Jacob to yell at Bella so unabashedly. It made her nervous and triggered thoughts of being with Edward. "We'll get through this Jacob. Just like we get through everything." Bella told him quietly.

"Why is this happening now?" Jacob complained, while pacing the living room. He began to murmur to himself and cursing lowly.

" _Why is this happening now?!" Edward growled, pointing a pale finger at Bella. "You did this didn't you?" He raised his hand as though he wanted to strike her but quickly dropped it and changed his tone. "Sorry for raising my voice to you,_ Isabella. _"_

 _Bella flinched when he caressed the side of her face. She knew why his changed his tune as there was only one reason._

" _Edward, your assistant has need of you in the office." Esme told him. Her voice came from behind Bella and after speaking, Bella felt relief wash through her. Edward never abused her when people were around and he always treated her respectfully when his mother was near._

" _Thanks for letting me know." He told Esme before exiting the kitchen._

 _Esme watched her son leave, then stood beside Bella, rubbing her back in small circles. "You alright dear? I know my son can have a fierce temper sometimes, but he means no harm." Esme sent Bella the sweetest smile that had the brunette choking back tears. "What's wrong Bella?"_

 _Bella didn't have the heart to tell Esme that her son was a monster. That Bella had fantasies of running away or killing herself, just to escape him. Whenever she had thoughts of running away, it seemed as though Edward had a sixth sense and picked up on it. He would make her like no one else in the world would ever love her because she was worthless. He drilled it into her head that he was the best she would ever do and to leave would be the biggest mistake she could ever make. After all, who would want a bruised and battered woman? She didn't have any skills and would fail at any job. Sometimes the darkness would take over and she would have thoughts of ending his life…_

" _I'm fine." Bella lied, faking a smile and turning back to the burnt chicken on the stove. "I'm just a little miffed that I burned the chicken." Bella frowned at the blackened meat. "Edward asked his cook to prepare this for the dinner party later, but I guess the cook forgot the chicken was in the oven." Bella's hands began to shake. "So it's my fault." She nearly whispered._

 _Esme gently pushed Bella to the side and eyeballed the chicken. "I know a wonderful restaurant a few minutes from here that serves the best chicken." Esme sent Bella a secretive smile. "I'm sure the dinner party won't be able to tell the difference." She winked at Bella, then whipped out her phone to make a call._

 _Bella didn't have the words to thank Esme for saving her. Edward hated when things didn't go smoothly when he hosted dinner parties. Bella lifted the sleeve of her shirt and studied the dark bruise he had given her the other day for doing something wrong. She was really hoping this dinner party would go smoothly as she didn't want the bruise to gain a family._

"Bella? Bella it's okay. We'll figure out the money situation."

Bella didn't realize Jacob had his arms around her and was rocking her from side to side on the couch. He loosened his grip when she reached up to rid her eyes of the tears she had not realized were pouring down her swollen cheeks. Memories of Edward were fleeting and soon she felt very grounded in the present. "Sorry Jacob. I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me Bella." Jacob kissed her wet cheek quickly and rested his head against her shoulder while keeping one of his arms slung around her. "It's Edward isn't it?"

Bella nodded slowly. Since she and Jacob had been together, there had been a few occasions where she was triggered by past experiences with her ex and sometimes broke down and cried and shook with fear while staring blankly at the world. "It's okay. I'm better." She looked at her husband and reached for his free hand. "Don't worry too much about money, please. We will be okay. Don't forget, I have a job too."

"That's true." Jacob exhaled loudly. "I just don't like the thought all this financial instability."

"It happens." Bella told him. "It's not like we're millionaires." When Jacob made a face at her, she rolled her eyes. "The past is the past, Jacob. Let's just take it one day at a time right now." Bella thought back to what Jacob had said. "So you won't be paid for your time away. Think of it like a mini vacation. At least you still have a job. That, I might add, you're getting your next paycheck this Friday."

Jacob made a noise of disgruntlement but couldn't help a half smile stretching his lips. "It's going to be a crappy paycheck in comparison to what I could've earned. But I guess you're right. At least it's a check."

"See? You can find a brightside to anything if you try hard enough." Bella kissed his lips sweetly and felt that she accomplished in diffusing her husband's anger.

By the time Friday rolled around, Bella was happy the weekend was nearly upon them. It had been a long week and she was feeling fatigue settling in. As she passed back some papers to her final class, she found herself ready to collapse from lack of energy. She was starting to regret her decisions to skip lunch and grade papers. But she had wanted an essay free weekend so that she could relax. Luckily for her, Alice and even Demetri had helped her out as they noticed how worn out she seemed to be.

The bell rang dismissing her last class and Bella wished her students a good weekend. As they were filing out, Demetri entered with Alice at his heels. The pair had grins on their faces and Bella was interested in finding out why. "Whatsup?" She asked while cleaning off her desk.

"I got him to agree to go on a date with me tomorrow." Alice squealed. "I'm going to get to meet him in person and woo him with my assets." She struck a sexy pose that had Bella covering her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Well I'm happy to hear it." Bella congratulated her friend then looked between her and Demetri. "Is there something else?" She asked when Alice looked at her expectantly.

"Well, you remember what happened last time I had a date at the tavern?" Alice looked away from Bella's eyes in embarrassment.

"I do." Bella replied solemnly. "It was terrifying."

"It was." Alice scratched her neck nervously. "Well I don't want it to happen again. So I was wondering if you and Demetri could come on the date with me."

Bella's brow raised in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Technically," Demetri interjected. "We wouldn't be on the date with her. We're going to go to the same restaurant as them is all. But we're not going to sit at their table. We will keep an eye on her though, just to make sure this Jazz guy isn't someone shady."

It all made sense to Bella at that point and she smiled at Alice. "I see. Sounds fine with me. But I'm inviting Jacob along."

Demetri made a noise of displeasure. "I'm going to be a third wheel."

"Invite Max." She teased lightly, causing the man to blush heavily. "Or I can."

"Are you serious?" Demetri asked, voice catching in his throat.

"Sure." Bella looked to Alice, then back at Demetri. "I'll tell him it's a work thing."

Alice clasped her hands together. "Sounds like a plan!"

 **A/N: Catfishing is when someone pretends to be someone they're not. It happens online mainly through social media. They can even go so far as to give fake pictures and a false life. Just in case anyone was unfamiliar with the term I wanted to clarify. Btw, I'm busy with college and RA duties so the next update won't be for about 2 weeks. Hang in there!**


	15. I Really Like You

Chapter 15

 _It's like everything you say is a sweet revelation_

 _All I wanna do is get into your head_

 _Yeah we could stay alone, you and me, in this temptation_

 _Sipping on your lips, hanging on by a thread, baby_

 _~I Really Like You- Carly Rae Jepsen_

"I don't understand." Jacob huffed, buttoning up his shirt. "If it's not a date, then why are you making me dress up?"

Bella adjusted her purple cocktail dress before turning to her husband. "Because it's a fancy restaurant. We're not going to look like hobos, Jacob."

Suddenly Jacob was behind his wife, running his hands across her body. "You look stunning in this dress. Maybe I'll sneak some feels at the restaurant." he half-joked.

"Jake…" she sighed as his touch left tingles on her skin. "I'm going to change into some pants." Bella murmured as she felt Jacob sliding his hand up her thigh. "Wouldn't want you to get carried away." She winked at her husband before ditching her dress for some skinny jeans and a form fitting blouse with puffy sleeves. "Look Jacob." Bella pointed to her hair that had been braided down the side. "I look like that girl from Hunger Games."

"Cute." Jacob kissed his wife quickly then the duo exited the room to find their daughter watching cartoons on the living room television. Midnight was resting at her feet and she seemed completely entranced by the show. "Ya know, I just realized something."

Bella sent her husband an inquisitive look. "What?"

"Her birthday is coming up." He smiled at his wife who also seemed surprised.

"You're right. I can't believe I forgot." Bella looked at her daughter who was giggling at the show. "She's going to be five. Kindergarten time..."

Jacob came up behind her and merely hugged her gently. "She's growing up so fast. Soon she'll be a teenager and we'll be old."

Bella scoffed and leaned her head back against his chest. "Don't you dare. We are young."

Jacob laughed lightly. "Well, I'm young. You're a year older than me. Grandma."

Bella growled lowly. "Don't forget, I know where you sleep at night."

Someone knocked at their door and Bella quickly opened it, knowing who would be on the other side. "Hey Bells." Charlie greeted before entering the clean apartment. "Hey Nessie!" He sent the child his biggest smile and she finally tore her eyes from the TV.

"Paw-paw!" She squealed in excitement. "Look, he's runnin' from the turtle!" She pointed at the TV once Charlie had joined her on the couch.

"We should be back around 11 or midnight, Charlie." Bella told her father after slipping into her raincoat.

"Alright Bells. Have fun you two."

After they had left, the pair stopped by Alice's apartment. The spiky haired woman answered the door in her underwear and looked in a state of panic. "What do I wear?" she gasped when Bella stared at the two outfits in her hand.

"I'm going to wait in the car." Jacob muttered after a moment of embarrassment.

As he left, Bella entered the apartment and closed the door quietly. "You always get so frantic before a first date."

Alice held up a skin tight black leather dress, and a mauve colored romper. "I want to look extra stunning. First impressions are everything."

Bella looked at the leather and shook her head. "That won't do." She looked at the romper with disdain. "Neither of these are really good enough."

Alice threw the clothes in a pile building on the living room floor, then raced to her bedroom. Bella followed behind at much more reasonable pace. By the time she made it into the room, Alice had three outfits laid out on her bed. "I need to look perfect."

"I have to say, I love when you're like this. You even take my fashion advice." Bella smiled inwardly when Alice scowled in her direction. "Even though I do recall you once said I was as fashionable as a squirrel." Bella walked over to the bed and pointed to the red strapless dress that cinched at the waist and fell in ruffles stopping about knee length. "I think that one is perfect."

"You're right." Alice put on the dress and adjusted her hair to maintain her spikes. "He said he's really tall so I'm going to wear my highest heels so I don't look like one of Snow White's dwarfs." Alice joked, but stuck her feet into some four inch black stilettos. "How do I look?"

"He is going to devour you." Bella complimented and gave her friend two thumbs up. "Now relax. Dates are fun."

After Alice felt satisfied with her outfit, they parted ways as they were going to meet at the restaurant. Bella and Jacob ended up arriving first and grabbed a table for four in a booth along the wall. The booth they were given allowed them to view the entire restaurant so no matter where Alice and her date were seated, they would be able to see them. Since Demetri and Max would be sharing the booth with them, Bella and Jacob sat on the same side.

"This is a nice place." Jacob commented while his eyes roved over the decor. "Must be pretty expensive."

Bella pointed to the menu and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, I saw some nice looking meals in here for under ten dollars."

"Oh thank goodness." Jacob sighed in relief and looked at his wife lovingly. "I love you." He bent to kiss her but was stopped when he heard a groan.

"I knew I was going to be the third wheel." Demetri grumbled as he slid into the booth and sat across from Bella.

"We'll be third wheels together, apparently." Max grunted, following Demetri into the booth. "We're watching you two."

Their waiter suddenly appeared and they ordered drinks. Bella was prepared to go for the free option of water, but Max decided to buy a bottle of wine for the table to share. "This is a nice place." Demetri spoke, fingering the soft tablecloth.

"Meh. Seems overpriced." Max grunted. "But I do like these candles." He pointed to the faux candles sitting in the middle of the table. "It's like we're on a double date." He teased, elbowing Demetri playfully.

"Yeah." Demetri turned away from Max so the man wouldn't notice that his face was starting to resemble that of a tomato.

Bella locked eye contact with Demetri and sent him a reassuring smile. "So, Max. How have your classes been?"

Max groaned in frustration and leaned back in his seat. "I have so many assignments to grade and tests to give out. These next couple of weeks are going to be tough."

"Ya know," Bella began, looking down at the empty booth. "Sometimes when I'm swamped with work, Alice helps me grade papers."

"Really?" Max asked surprised.

"Yes." Bella sent her coworker a smile and chanced a glance at Demetri. "Maybe you could find someone to help you too. Demetri?"

Max turned his attention to Demetri and asked the question that hung in the air. "Will you help me grade my crap?" Demetri nodded wordlessly just as the waiter arrived with their wine. He poured them each a glass and Max sipped it loudly. "Oh this is good. We might need another bottle."

The waiter nodded and wrote down something in his little notepad. "So is everyone ready to order?"

As they placed their order, Bella noticed a flash of red out of the corner of her eye. She held out a hand to push Jacob closer to his seat and smiled when she noticed Alice greeting her date. The man was over a foot taller than Alice with medium length, honey blonde hair. His body was lean but Bella could tell that he was muscular underneath from the way his shirt clung to his body. "Cute." She murmured, capturing the attention of everyone at the table.

"Who?" Jacob looked in the same direction as Bella and made a face. "Eh. I don't see it."

Demetri looked at Alice's date and made a grunt of appreciation while Max continued to drink his wine.

"Damn this stuff is good." He downed what was in his glass and quickly poured another. "Can you believe this is cheap wine? Only ten bucks a bottle." Max chuckled to himself. "We don't make enough to even enjoy expensive wine." He swirled what was in his glass languidly. "At least it's good."

"When I help you grade your papers," Demetri began, capturing Max's attention. "I can bring you a bottle from my wine collection. I have some really good years."

Max's brow raised in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes. I earned it for…" Demetri glanced up at Bella with an unreadable expression. "You have a daughter right?"

"I do." Bella pulled out her cell phone and flashed both Demetri and Max various pictures of her daughter.

"How old is she?" Max asked curiously.

"Four." Bella responded.

"But she'll be five next week." Jacob told him. "Five is a big birthday. Maybe we should throw her a party." Jacob looked at his wife, throwing out the idea for her to accept or decline.

Bella looked at her husband and nodded slowly. "That sounds like a good idea actually. We'll talk about it more when we get home."

Their food arrived and when Bella glanced at Alice, she noticed her friend laughing at something her date said, but seemed genuinely happy and not uncomfortable in the slightest.

"This is going to cost me a whole paycheck." Max muttered, looking down at his steak and lobster. "At least it's going to taste like heaven."

Bella could tell by the tone of his voice that he was starting to get tipsy. She chanced a glance at her husband and couldn't help sighing inwardly. It's like Jacob and Max were having a competition to see who could consume the most wine. As though Jacob could read Bella's mind, he held up his empty glass and angled it at Max. "Wanna see who can chug a full glass the fastest?"

"Dude, yes." Max quickly filled their glasses, emptying the bottle of wine. When the waiter happened to be walking by, Max held up the bottle. "One more please?" The waited nodded once in confirmation, before disappearing. "Alright, lets go!"

Bella watched her husband downing the wine and shared a look with Demetri. "Looks like I'll be the designated driver." Bella pushed aside her barely touched glass of wine.

"Me too." Demetri set his next to Bella's. "Which is fine since we carpooled." Demetri side-eyed Max as the man chugged the wine like a pro. "Can you believe these two?"

Bella watched them finish just as the waiter returned with another bottle. "Men." She grumbled. "So how's it been going Demetri?"

Demetri shrugged nonplussed. "Nothing new to report." He thought about it and half-scowled. "Well, my neighbor's dog gave birth a few weeks ago to some pups and the little things bark a lot at night."

"Aw that sucks." Bella didn't know what else to say to Demetri in words of comfort. She felt a nudge from Jacob and her attention returned to him and Max, still chugging wine like it was going out of style.

While the pair continued their antics, Bella made sure to check up on Alice. As she stared at her friend's table, she watched Alice's date walk away towards the bathroom. Alice took that time to hurry over to their booth and fill them in on her date. As she skirted through some tables, Bella noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes. "Hey guys. How's it going?" Alice asked, slightly out of breath from the speed of which she had hurried to the table.

"We're fine." Bella motioned to her husband and Max. "They're acting like frat boys but ignore them. How's your date going?"

Alice's eyes lit up with elation. "He is fantastic. He's funny, he's hot and he has a job!" Alice clasped her hands together and did a cute little dance that had a few other restaurant patrons laughing quietly. "I definitely want to go on a second date."

"Wow!" Bella knew how Alice had high standards when it came to dating. If a man made it to the second date, that was practically marriage material. "Well, we don't want to keep you. But you sure he's safe?"

Alice nodded fervently. "He is. I don't think he could hurt a fly." Alice glanced back at the table then back to everyone else. "Thanks for this though. You really made me feel safe."

"It's no problem, Alice." Demetri smiled at the woman then pointed at her table. "Now go before he comes back and think you left."

Alice giggled then fixed her dress. "I had to take off my shoes halfway through, they were killing my feet." She looked down at her toes and wiggled them against the floor. "I'll definitely tell you about this later." Alice told Bella before hurrying back to her table.

"I'm so happy she is having a good time." Bella said once Alice had gone. "She deserves to find someone special." As she was talking Bella felt a hand resting on her thigh. She then looked at her husband who winked at her while drinking from his glass. Bella was suddenly reminded of the time Jacob had gotten drunk while they were on the double date with Emmett and Rosalie. He always became frisky when he was intoxicated. She normally didn't mind, especially since she hadn't been intimate with him much since before he went to South Carolina. But since they were at a restaurant with her colleagues from work, it wasn't the time or place. Bella inconspicuously removed Jacob's hand from her thigh and placed it back on his lap.

Max looked down at his empty plate and frowned. "Aw man, where did my food go?" his voice slurred and his head lolled to the side in search of his food.

"You ate it all Max." Demetri spoke as though he were talking to a child. "It's all gone now."

Max cursed loudly and a couple at a nearby table looked at him peculiarly.

"Let's try to keep our voices down." Demetri suggested while removing the wine bottle from Max's reach. "I think you've had enough of that."

Max pouted cutely at Demetri. "Why?" He whined. "It tastes so good." Max reached out to grab the bottle but Demetri swatted away his hand. "You suck." Max made tried to make a face of annoyance at Demetri, but in his drunken stupor, he just ended up looking constipated. Eventually Max found himself staring at Alice and her date. "I wish I could find love."

Demetri patted him on the back sadly. "You aren't the only one."

Max whipped around and locked eyes with Demetri. "What are you talking about? You must have no problem fighting off the ladies."

"What makes you say that?" Demetri asked with surprise.

"You're hot." Max stated bluntly. "C'mon. Everyone knows it." Max gestured to himself. "And then you have me. I look awful."

Demetri shook his head fiercely. "No you don't Max. You're hot too."

Max scowled at Demetri and reached over him for the wine again. "Don't lie to me. I know I'm attractive. I haven't had a proper date in years." Max lifted up his right hand. "This is my only lover at night." He chuckled drunkenly and flopped across Demetri's lap.

Demetri stared directly into Bella's eyes and turned a dark shade of scarlet. "Bella, I have a problem."

Bella removed her husband's hand for the fifth time from her lap. The last couple of times he had actually made his way into pants and were touching parts of her that were giving her conflicting feelings. "What's wrong?" Bella asked, concerned.

Max suddenly shifted off of Demetri's lap and looked confused. "Why do you have a flashlight in your pocket?"

Bella had to cover her mouth for multiple reasons. The situation unfolding between Demetri and Max was amusing and the placement of her husband's hand was lighting a fire within her body. "Check please!" Bella suddenly called as their waiter walked by.

It took them less than five minutes to pay for their meal and exit the restaurant. Bella half-waved to Alice on the way out and she smiled in return. Demetri had to help Max to his car and Bella did the same with her husband. "See ya Monday, Bella." Demetri called as he buckled Max into his car.

"Get home safely." Bella returned before helping Jacob into the passenger side of the car. She had parked on the edge of the lot as it was the only empty space she could find at the time. There was a burnt out streetlight above her car which made it hard to get the key into the door. But not impossible. Once she was in the car, Jacob attacked her with kisses. "Jacob." She sighed into his mouth, returning the kisses. "You're drunk." She told him, pushing him away gently.

"I'm not." He told her breathlessly. "Just extremely tipsy." Jacob trailed his finger across her pant-clad legs. The material was so thin she could feel it as though he were touching her directly. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked softly.

Bella looked around them at the parking lot. Not a soul in sight and they were surrounded by many empty cars parked in the lot. She sighed reluctantly and removed her seatbelt. "Well it's not the weirdest place we've had sex." Bella quickly climbed into Jacob's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love being on top."

 **A/N: Jeez, I said I'd update in two weeks and it's been about month. Sorry about that. The beginning of the school year is always hectic for me. Regardless, updates are moving to Friday's and will be consistent at least for the next month. Thanks for any reviews, alerts/favs. It's much appreciated and I hope y'all are still enjoying the store. Much is in store, so stay tuned!**


	16. Stop Calling Me

Chapter 16  
 _I can't take what you doing to me._

 _Boy why is it so hard for you to see._

 _If you keep calling trying to holla._

 _There's no need._

 _~Stop Calling Me- Cherish_

"What do you mean it's gone?" Jacob growled into the phone.

Bella watched her husband gripping the house phone with enough force to break the small device. Yesterday they had eaten at the restaurant and Jacob had gotten drunk which led to a raunchy night in the parking lot. They hadn't gotten home until well after midnight, much to Charlie's chagrin. Bella felt bad and allowed Charlie to sleep the night on their couch. Before Charlie had left that morning, she made breakfast and wished him a good rest of the day. Jacob had stumbled out of bed around noon and after devouring some cold leftover breakfast, he headed into the living room with an agenda. Bella didn't know who he was talking to, or what the subject matter was even about. All she could tell was that Jacob was unhappy with whatever the person was saying.

"We can sue you! This is unacceptable!" Jacob snapped, clenching his free hand angrily. "Excuse me?! How dare you!" Jacob slammed the phone down on the receiver and ended the call. "This can't be happening. This has to be a dream." He groaned aloud.

Bella entered the living room warily. She knew how Jacob could be when he was angry. "What's going on?" She asked softly.

Jacob had covered his face with his hands, peered out at his wife between his fingers. "We have a huge problem."

"What is it?" Bella crossed the living room and took a seat beside her distraught husband. "Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"I was on the phone with auto shop. I was asking about your car." Jacob removed his hands and turned to his wife. "It's been weeks. It shouldn't be taking this long."

Bella frowned and reached out to pat Jacob's back. "Is it the engine? I know it can be expensive to replace, but don't worry. We can figure it out."

"It's not the engine." Jacob made a face as though he were sucking on a lemon. "It's gone."

Bella was confused by Jacob's words. "What's gone?"

"Your car." He responded simply. "Your car is gone."

Bella removed her hand from Jacob's back slowly. "My car is...gone? How is that possible?"

Jacob stood up from the couch and began pacing. "Apparently they don't have any record of the car ever being on the lot."

"Huh?" Bella felt like the room was spinning and had to close her eyes for a moment. "Why wouldn't they have record of it?"

"I have no idea. But they don't remember your car ever being there. So as far as they're concerned, we never gave them your car." Jacob stomped his foot on the ground and turned to his wife. "Do you have any documents or anything we can do to take this to court?"

Bella thought back to when she had her car put in the shop. It was so long ago that it took her awhile to retrieve the memories. "I remember calling a tow truck. Paying in cash because he didn't take credit. But after that, it's all a blur." Bella fiddled with the fabric of the couch. "I don't think I ever even called the shop. The tow truck man just told me he was going to take it to the shop and gave me their number."

Jacob leaned against the wall and looked at the ceiling. "I can't believe this is happening. Your car has essentially been stolen. We can't even sue the auto shop because we don't have concrete evidence." Jacob cursed quietly and looked at his wife with anger. "We can't afford a new car."

"I know." Bella stood up from the couch but felt light headed immediately and fell back. "Whoa."

Jacob noticed and was immediately at his wife's side. "Are you okay?" He sat next to her and held her face in his hands.

"I'm fine Jake. Just stood up too fast. Don't worry about me." She sent him a wry smile. "We need to focus on the task at hand." Bella pulled out her cell phone and quickly found Charlie's number. "If we report it stolen, then maybe they can find it."

Jacob sighed heavily. "We have no clue how long your car has been stolen, Bella. It's been weeks. Whoever took it most likely sold it and trashed the plates."

"Doesn't hurt to try right?" Bella called her father who, luckily, was a police officer. She didn't want to explain the entire situation to him as everything seemed so hectic, but merely told him that her car had been stolen. Charlie promised to put in a report when he went to work the following day, and Bella thanked him before ending the call. The whole conversation took less than ten minutes, and by the time she was finished, Jacob had calmed down. "It's alright Jacob. We'll get through this like we get through everything else."

"I really hope so Bella." Jacob muttered. "How can you be so calm about all of this? It was your car. I feel like I'm more upset than you are."

Bella shrugged and produced a small smile. "Well one of us has to be level headed." She kissed his cheek gently and smirked. "Or maybe I'm still on cloud nine from last night."

Jacob flushed from embarrassment. "I can't believe we did that in a parking lot."

"What did you do in a parking lot?" Renesmee asked suddenly after entering the living room with her pet at her heels.

Jacob looked to his wife for an answer but she merely tried not to laugh and looked at him expectantly. "Well Jacob? What did we do in the parking lot?"

"Uh," Jacob looked at his daughter nervously. "We ran over a squirrel."

Renesmee gasped in fright and Bella glared at her husband. "He's joking Renesmee. Don't listen to him." Bella opened her arms and her daughter embraced her.

"That was scary." Renesmee murmured into her mother's shirt. "Why did daddy try to scare me?"

"He wasn't trying to scare you. He was just being silly." Bella looked at Jacob and mouthed the words 'I'm going to kill you.'

After Renesmee had calmed down from her mild scare, Jacob suggested they take Midnight for a walk, stopping by the park. Renesmee was delighted with the idea and rushed to her room to put on her shoes and grab a jacket. "It's a good thing it's not raining today."

Bella peered out of the window and a small smile graced her face. "I think for the next couple of weeks, it's not going to rain too badly. On Renesmee's birthday it's even going to be sunny!"

"Really?" Jacob made a face appreciation. "So the party then?"

"I think it's doable. I'm going to look up some places where we can have it." Bella ended the conversation as their daughter dashed into the room.

"Let's go daddy!" She held Midnight's leash and passed it to her father who quickly clipped it on Midnight's collar. "Mommy do you want to go too?"

Bella shook her head regretfully. "Sorry honey. But mommy has things she has to do." When Renesmee began to pout, Bella sent her daughter a half-smile. "But I'm sure you, daddy and Midnight are going to have fun. When you get back, I'll have lunch ready and maybe we can watch a movie."

Renesmee seemed intrigued by this idea and hugged her mother.

"Jake, why don't you take the camera? We haven't made home videos in a while." Bella pointing to where the camera lay abandoned atop the TV.

"Good idea." Jacob grabbed it then blew his wife a kiss. "C'mon Nessie."

Bella watched her family head out then grabbed her laptop that was resting on the coffee table. She wasn't sure where she wanted Renesmee's party to be, but she wanted it to be a kid friendly place. While she was googling ideas, she called Charlie for the second time that day. "Hey Charlie."

"I'm so popular today." Charlie joked through the phone. "Whatcha need, Bells?"

"So as you know, Renesmee's birthday is on Saturday." Bella got comfy in her seat by lifting her legs onto the couch. "I'm going to throw her a surprise birthday party."

"That sounds like a great idea." Charlie paused then shuffled the phone to his other ear. "And you're calling to see if you can hold the party here?"

Bella hadn't thought about it, but that was actually a great idea. Charlie had a large fenced in backyard. They could easily set up a kid friendly party back there. "Yes." Bella said. "Would that be alright?"

"Of course Bells. She has a few friends here. I'll be seeing most of their parents during the week if you want me to invite them."

"Charlie, that would be awesome." Bella smiled through the phone and felt relief with how well the party planning was turning out. "I'll bring all the supplied by Saturday morning and we can set up. The party will be in the afternoon, maybe 2. Is 2 a good time?"

"Fine by me."

Bella ended the call a few minutes later after fine tuning some details. The venue was now booked; Charlie's backyard. Now she needed to come up with a theme. Most kid birthday parties had themes. She vaguely remembered being a little girl and having a barbie themed birthday party. She'd also gone to others including a dinosaur and disney themed party. Renesmee was different than Bella was as a child. Bella had been more reserved and only liked a handful of things. Renesmee on the other hand was a very open child who enjoyed a wild variety of things from toy cars, to dolls to Midnight. "Midnight." Bella murmured aloud as an idea struck her. "Puppy themed birthday!" Renesmee had really taken a shine to Midnight. She played with the pup from sunup till sundown. Yesterday at the restaurant Demetri had told her that his neighbor had puppies. Maybe is she asked nice enough, Demetri would be able to ask his neighbor if they could bring the puppies to the birthday party. Who didn't love puppies? Bella made a mental note to ask Demetri the next time she saw him.

She put away the laptop after successfully finding her theme and listed the stores she would need to visit to buy party supplies. She set up an alert on her phone so that she would be reminded to pick up the supplies after work on Friday. She was going to make sure it was the best birthday party ever for Renesmee.

The house phone suddenly began ringing and Bella plucked it from it's ringer, bringing it to her ear. "Hello?" she greeted happily.

"Hello Isabella." A deep voice returned neutrally.

Bella felt the smile drop from her face and her voice lowered. "Edward. What do _you_ want?"

Edward chuckled darkly. "What? I can't occasionally call you and ask how you are?"

Bella scowled into the phone. "We both know you don't give a rat's ass about me. You never did."

"Now Isabella, you know that's not true. I loved you once." Edward tutted into the phone. "But then you ruined my life and all of that changed."

Bella hated hearing her name on his voice. She knew the only reason he was using her full name was to piss her off. "What do you want? Why do you keep calling me?"

"Are you saying you don't enjoy my calls?" Edward chided. "That hurts."

Bella wanted to hang up on him but she couldn't figure out why he was calling her. "How did you even get my number?"

"I have my ways _Isabella Swan_."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Bella shrieked. She was tired of hearing from him. She wanted to just forget about the past and her relationship with him. But every time she seemed to have a good day, Edward somehow made an appearance to remind her of the terrible life she'd had with him. "What, do you miss me?" she snapped.

"You know why I'm calling." Edward growled lowly. "You've ruined my life."

"You ruined mine!" Bella slammed the phone down on the receiver and unplugged it from the wall so that he wouldn't be able to call back. She'd had enough of Edward and never wanted to hear from him again. "Who needs house phones anyway?"


	17. Somebody's Watching Me

Chapter 17  
 _I always feel like somebody's watching me._

 _And I have no privacy._

 _Woh, I always feel like somebody's watching me._

 _Tell me is it just a dream?_

 _~Somebody's Watching Me- Rockwell ft. Michael Jackson_

Bella's sandwich fell from her hands and landed on the plate below. Most of the sandwich stayed together, but some of the shredded lettuce scattered off of the plate where it lay harmlessly on her desk. "Say that again?" Surprise coloring her tone. It was Monday afternoon and her lunch break was being held in her classroom. Demetri and Alice had joined her and were sitting in front of her desk in some of her students seats.

Demetri couldn't help the grin stretching across his face. "He kissed me!"

"How did that happen?" Alice asked confused. "I thought Max was straight."

"Well, after we left, I took Max to my place because he was extremely drunk and I didn't remember where he lived. When we got there, I had to practically carry him upstairs, he was so drunk." Demetri flexed his muscles and winked at the women. "It wasn't hard for me, as you can tell. But that's beside the point. I laid him on my couch and for most of the ride home he had been asleep. But when I put him on my couch, he woke and we talked a little."

"What were you talking about?" Alice asked, completely entranced by the story.

"I don't want to disclose too much. But he just seemed sad about his dating life. So I told him that any woman would be happy to date him, as he was attractive. Then he gave me a funny look and slumped forward and kissed me."

Alice squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. "Your first kiss with Max. Maybe they'll be many more."

"I don't know." Bella interjected. "He was drunk. Who knows if he's even going to remember the kiss."

Alice held up a finger at Bella, silencing her. "They say that anything you do drunk, you would do sober. Being drunk doesn't make magic feelings or thoughts happen."

Bella sighed and readjusted her sandwich so that the contents were no longer spilling out. "I'm not trying to be discouraging, I just don't want you to get your hopes up for nothing." Bella told Demetri honestly. "You seem like a really nice guy, and I don't want you to get hurt." Bella took a large bite of her sandwich, ending her speech.

"I'm not going to look too much into it." Demetri admitted honestly. "Even though he was drunk, it was a nice kiss." Demetri stuck a fork in his pasta and looked at Alice. "But you, tell us more about your date."

Alice swooned heavily and leaned back against her chair. "He is perfect. I think I'm in love."

"Alice! Those are big words coming from you." Bella commented, polishing off half of her sandwich. "What's got you in this love tizzy?"

Alice placed a hand over her fast beating heart and smiled sweetly at her friends. "He is just so wonderful. He makes me laugh, and I love that he's interested in hearing what I have to say." Alice paused, looking down at her shoes. "He even remembers what I say. It's such a nice feeling to have someone actually listening to you and not just letting it all go in one ear and out the other."

Bella nodded in agreement. "It is nice. So I take it you're going to see him again?"

Alice's smile fell slightly. "I want to see him again. But he's really busy." She began to frown and pushed away her half eaten lunch. "Well maybe he's not perfect. But he's everything I could ever want in a man and then some."

"Where does he work? He must work in an office if he's so busy all the time." Demetri commented after sipping his Pepsi.

"That's the funny thing. Jazz doesn't like talking about his work. He just tells me it keeps him very busy. But whenever I ask where it is, or what exactly he does, he just skirts around the subject." Alice made a face of confusion. "It's the only thing he's secretive about. Should I be worried?"

Bella didn't want to say yes, but she got a feeling in her gut that something was off about this Jazz character. "Well, if he's cheating on you or something, we will beat him up. Because that's what friends are for." Bella offered, half-joking.

"I don't want to think about something like that. It's too early in our relationship. We're not even together-together." Alice sighed dramatically. "Let's talk about something else."

"Oh!" Bella turned her attention to Demetri. "Your puppies!"

"Puppies?" Demetri looked at Bella as though she had sprouted two heads. "I don't have puppies. I'm actually more of a cat man."

"What?" Bella giggled softly. "No, I'm sorry. I meant your neighbor. They have puppies right?"

Demetri's face fell into one of disdain. "Oh, yeah. _Those puppies._ Why?"

"Well, Renesmee's birthday is on Saturday and I'm throwing her a puppy themed birthday party. But we only have one puppy and I would like a small batch for all the kids to play with." Bella sent Demetri a hopeful stare. "Do you think your neighbor would lend you the puppies for a couple hours? You can tell them I just want them for the party."

"Sure Bella." Demetri replied. "I'll see what I can do."

The rest of the week passed by slowly for Bella. She was excited for the party on Saturday and it mainly consumed her thoughts. She had fine tuned many details and even secured the puppies from Demetri's neighbor. It seemed like the party would be going down without a hitch, and for that she was pleased. With Edward pushed from her thoughts, the only problem Bella seemed to be having was the constant fatigue befalling her body. She chalked it up to not having enough sleep and made empty promises to herself to go to bed at a decent time. It never seemed to happen and by the time Friday rolled around, she was extremely lethargic.

During the week, she had noticed that one of her particular students had taken an interest in her. Jane, one of her top students who always turned in assignments on time, never disrupted the class and sat in the back corner often gazing out of the window with an unreadable expression on her face, had been staring at her all week. At first Bella thought it was all in her mind, as when she caught Jane starring, the girl would look away casually. Then Bella thought that it wasn't unusual as she was a teacher and it was important that her students paid attention to her. But what caused her to feel unsettled was the times she wasn't lecturing but sitting behind her desk, grading papers and she would scan the class, making sure everyone was doing their work and she would see her. Brown eyes would lock onto sharp grays and Bella would feel a cold run through her, forcing herself to turn away.

Jane happened to be in Bella's final class, so on Friday afternoon when the bell rang to dismiss the class and end the school day, Bella couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped through her lips. She would forget about Jane as she was going to have a full weekend. As her students were collecting their things and racing for the door leading to their freedom, Bella began to put away her papers that wouldn't be graded until Sunday at the earliest. She was starting to become swamped with work and she contemplated throwing out all the assignments and just giving everyone an A. When her desk was neat and tidy, she looked up and found all of her students gone, except for one. Jane stood in front of her desk quietly, staring at her peculiarly.

Bella couldn't help feeling startled but managed to not show that her student had scared her. Instead she returned the stare with a questioning one of her own. "Is there something I can help you with Jane?" A mild tension was beginning to build and Bella felt her arms starting to erupt with goosebumps.

Jane looked down at Bella then slowly averted her gaze until it rested on the books in her hands. "You look familiar." She told Bella softly. Her voice was like a secret on a breeze. Bella figured it was because the girl rarely spoke, and she began to wonder if Jane talked at home or was just as silent.

"Well I am your teacher." Bella responded, not really sure where Jane was going with this conversation.

The girl flinched as though Bella's words had stuck her. "That's not what I mean." She spoke with a bite to her words and Bella realized that Jane thought she was insulting her.

"How do I look familiar? I don't understand."

Jane returned her gaze to Bella and her forehead crinkled as she thought about something. "Have you ever been on TV?"

Bella laughed at the thought. "It is not my dream, nor will it ever, to be on TV." Bella stood from her desk and felt her head whirl with lightheadedness. She had to brace her hands against her desk to keep from falling and managed to steady herself within a few moments.

"Are you ok Mrs. Black?" Jane asked, voice taking on that of someone who is amused.

"I'm fine Jane." Bella looked at her student strangely. "But if you have no questions pertaining to the class, I think we should be about our way." Bella smiled to soften her words. "It's Friday after all. I'm sure you have some fun weekend plans."

Jane turned her head away from her teacher and her pale brown hair whipped through the air. "No, I don't." She pushed some strands of hair behind her ear and without another word, exited the classroom.

Bella didn't know what to think of the encounter but pushed it to the back burner of her thoughts. Jane might not have had plans for the weekend, but Bella did and she was eager for the weekend to start.

The English teacher grabbed her things and left her classroom, making sure to turn off the light. On her way to Alice's classroom, she ran into Demetri who was looking melancholy. "Hey, what's wrong?" Bella couldn't keep the concern from her voice and if her hands weren't full, she would've patted Demetri on the back or given him a hug.

"It's Max." The tall man responded, shoulders sagging with his words. "He's been avoiding me all week."

"Are you sure?"

Demetri nodded, eyes downcast. "I usually see him in the mornings but whenever we come into contact, he avoids eye contact or walks the other way. Obviously he hates me."

They had reached Alice's classroom and the short woman had heard the tail end of the conversation. "I don't think he hates you." She chimed upon their entry. "He might just be embarrassed he kissed you."

"Really?" Demetri seemed to like this idea. "I was starting to think that he figured out I'm gay and hates me now."

Alice and Bella exchanged amused glances. "I don't even know how you could come up with that conclusion." Alice told him seriously. "There's no way he knows you like men. He _kissed_ you remember."

"That's true." Demetri seemed pacified by her words and even managed to turn his frown into a smile. "If anything, he probably thinks that I think he's gay!"

"Yeah that's a possibility." Alice couldn't help snickering at the idea as the opposite was true. "Just give it time. He can't avoid you forever."

"We could always do something again and invite him. He seems to enjoy our outings." Bella suggested hopefully. If she were being honest with herself, it was she who enjoyed doing things with her coworkers. After finding out that Demetri didn't in fact like her more than a friend, she felt more comfortable around the man and it seemed to solidify their friendship. Also Jacob was back and she enjoyed bringing him to things involving her coworkers as he seemed to hit it off with Max right from the start.

"Seems like a good idea." Demetri pondered the idea while Alice finished gathering her things.

Bella always liked Alice's classroom as it was very colorful and always smelled like paint and silicone. Students artwork hung throughout the room and the floor was stained with various paints. A permanent reminder that this was in fact an art room. The art room seemed to be the only room in the entire building with proper ventilation and more than two windows. Bella sometimes wondered if she had become the wrong teacher. Art teachers always looked like they were having the most fun. But Bella found that she wasn't that creative and found an affinity for books that Alice did not have. While Alice didn't have to regularly test her students, most of the kids taking art classes didn't take it seriously, leaving Alice extremely frustrated as she was very passionate about her assignments. Everyone knew that the worst students took art classes and were the most rowdy and hard to control. Whenever Bella thought about this, it gave her comfort in being a English teacher.

"Renesmee's party is tomorrow." Bella told Alice and Demetri as they walked into the dry parking lot. It was a rare sight to not see everything covered in a layer of water. But true to the weatherman's report, it had not rained for a few days and the sun had even made an appearance, allowing most of the residents of Forks to break out the shorts and flip flops.

"I will bring the puppies around one." Demetri told Bella. "The owner wants them back by 7. I hope that's enough time."

Bella nodded gratefully. "That's plenty of time."

"Cool. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Demetri waved goodbye to his friends then walked off to find his car parked at the other end of the lot.

"So many kids." Alice shuddered at the thought then unlocked her car so they could get inside. "Kids are annoying."

Bella bumped Alice playfully with her shoulder. "Hey, one day you might have kids. You'll change your tune."

Alice made a face. "I don't think so Bella." She suddenly turned to Bella and looked hopeful.

Bella sighed, understanding Alice's wordless look. "Yes I will bring you leftovers."

 **A/N: So this chapter was pretty tame. Which means the next chapter most likely won't be. Stay tuned to find out why!**


	18. It's My Party

Chapter 18  
 _It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to_

 _Cry if I want to, cry if I want to_

 _You would cry too if it happened to you_

 _~It's My Party- Lesley Gore_

The sun beamed down from cloud-free sky with it's bright rays. It warmed the small town and even raised the temperature until it was warm enough that to wear sleeveless shirts and shorts wouldn't be an insane idea. For the first time in a long time, Forks didn't have a single puddle as the sun had dried everything in the usually moist town.

Jacob adjusted the table across the driveway and laid a tablecloth on top of it. Bella pointed to the fence and made a motion with her hands, telling her husband to scoot it closer to the fence. Jacob followed her nonverbal cues and she sent him a thumbs up. He then grabbed the last table they were using and placed it next to the table he had just adjusted. The placement of the tables successfully blocked off the driveway so that when the kids were playing in the backyard, they weren't tempted to escape.

Bella and Jacob had spent almost an hour decorating the backyard of Charlie's house in preparations for Renesmee's party. Charlie had taken the task of distracting the birthday girl, by taking her out to see a movie that would end as the party started.

The backyard looked like something from a cartoon. There were multicolored, helium inflated balloons that were tied along the fence and danced against the breeze happily. Bella had also strung up lots of streamers to add pizazz to the yard. Along a part of the fence was a poster for pin the tail on the dalmatian. Next to the poster sat a small table with one blindfold and numerous tails. On the opposite side of the yard from the poster, Bella had set up an area for the children to draw their own dog. She had bought enough materials for them to color and decorate it with glitter, stickers and pipe cleaners. In the midst of the thick, soft grass, Bella had laid out a blanket and set atop numerous dog toys that the children and puppies would be able to play with. Hovering above the dog toys was a giant pinata shaped like a poodle that Jacob had filled with various candies.

"Hey Bella, should we bring out the snacks?" Jacob asked his wife while inching his way to the backdoor.

Bella adjusted a crooked streamer and turned to her husband with a curt nod. "Yes. Go." After Jacob had gone, a car pulled into the driveway and parked a foot away from the tables. Demetri exited the car and opened the side door. "Oh good, you have the puppies." Bella had also brought her own puppy and had him tethered to one of the tables. He was peacefully laying on the lush grass.

"I did." He pulled out a large bin usually used for storing various household items. "They didn't have a cage, and this was all I had at the time." Demetri smiled sheepishly, but set the bin on top of the table separating him from the backyard. "There's one more, gimme a sec." Demetri returned to his car to retrieve the identical bin and placed it beside it's twin. "There we go."

Bella peered inside and found three puppies in each bin. They were a little smaller than Midnight and were various colors ranging from white to gray and even dull brown. She couldn't quite pinpoint the breed, but figured them to be a mix. All the puppies yipped at her happily when she looked down at them. Their short tails wagged enthusiastically and she found herself wishing she could keep each of them. "Thanks Demetri. I think Renesmee is going to love this party."

"I think so too." Demetri looked around the yard in appreciation. "Looks good Bella." He returned his attention to her and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Did you need any help? I'm not doing anything today."

"Are you sure?" Bella asked hopefully.

"Yeah. I don't mind." Demetri hopped over the table just as Jacob returned to the backyard carrying a big bowl of animal crackers. He was followed by three small children looking excited upon entering the backyard.

"They're starting to arrive." Jacob told his wife. He placed the bowl on the table and the kids immediately reached their hands inside and fished out some of the crackers. "I'm going to wait by the door for the rest of the guests."

"Alright." Bella turned her attention to Demetri. "Do you want to keep an eye on the kids, or take over Jacob's task of getting bringing out the snacks?"

Her colleague looked at the kids nervously then nodded his head towards the house. "I think I'll get the snacks. I take it they're in the kitchen?"

Bella nodded to show that his deduction had been correct. "Yes. Go through that door and the kitchen is down the hall to the right. You can't miss it." After Demetri had gone, Bella received a text from Charlie, telling her that the movie had finished and they were on their way back. Two more children came running out of the house and into the backyard, joining the growing group. So far, everything was going according to plan and Bella was satisfied.

It didn't take Demetri long to bring out the rest of the snacks. Bella had bought a wide variety of snacks that she knew the kids would enjoy. Being a mom, she didn't want to load down her daughter with just any snack, and made sure to get healthy food as well. One of the healthy snacks she had prepared was various fruits cut into fun shapes. She hollowed out a watermelon and placed the fruit inside, giving it a cutesy feel.

"You must be a vegetarian or something." Demetri noted before popping a star shaped melon into his mouth. "This is good fruit though."

Bella laughed at her friend. "I'm not a vegetarian. I love meat." She paused and looked at him curiously. "What makes you say that?"

Demetri gestured to the wide variety of snacks. Cereal bars chalked full of fiber enriched granola, raisins and colorful M&M's were cut into the shape of dog bones were lined perfectly on a tray. Whole grain red and blue tortilla chips rested in a faux dog bowl and sat next to some low fat dip that Bella had dyed purple to give it a fun look for the kids. The only snack that wasn't relatively healthy were the mini cupcakes that Jacob had picked up. "This just screams health nut."

Bella shrugged and was distracted when more children entered the backyard, bringing the total up to ten. "I'm just conscientious of what goes into my child's stomach. Healthy but tasty, that's my motto." One of the puppies tried to jump out of the bin and Bella glanced down inside. "Oh, well now that the kids are here, we can release them from their prison." She reached inside and grabbed the puppy trying to escape and placed him on the ground by her feet. He immediately took off towards the children who had unhooked Midnight from the table and were petting him fervently. When the new puppy joined the scene, they split into two groups, one devoted to Midnight, the other to the nameless gray pup.

Demetri helped Bella release all the puppies, and soon exuberant barks and playful squeals from the children filled the air. "I haven't seen that much chaos since Black Friday at Best Buy."

Bella snorted in amusement at Demetri then noticed that the beverages weren't out. "I left the cooler inside. I'll be back." Bella pointed to the distracted kids. "Keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't eat the dogs." She joked, but instantly regretted it upon the look of horror on Demetri's face. Instead of retracting her words, she headed inside the house and made her way towards the kitchen. Her movements were derailed for a moment when four little girls ran past her to get to the backyard. As more and more children showed up, Bella began to worry about the food supply. Did she buy enough? She was very meticulous about her planning and a food shortage would nag at her, bringing down her mood.

"Hey Leah." Bella heard Jacob greeting one of Renesmee's closest friends. "Ready to have a good time?" Bella couldn't quite hear the child's response, but whatever she said had Jacob laughing softly. "That's fine. I'll take the gift and the party is in the backyard. Just make your way to the back of the house." Bella entered the living room just as Leah was making her past her. "Hey Bella." Jacob had been standing in the doorway, left his post to give his wife a quick peck on her lips. "Look all the gifts for Renesmee." He pointed to the growing pile by Charlie's couch. "I figured we keep them inside so they won't accidentally get trampled by the kids."

"Good idea." Bella told him. "I just came back inside to get the cooler. What drinks did you get?"

Bella walked into the kitchen and wheeled the cooler back into the living room just in time to see more children arriving. "Hugs and little waters." Jacob responded after a pregnant pause. "I think this is the last of the guests." Jacob told his wife. "Which is great because I see Charlie pulling up." Jacob abandoned his post and took the cooler from his wife. "Let's go."

When the couple made it to the backyard, Jacob placed the cooler by the snacks and turned to face everyone in the yard. Meanwhile, Bella walked into the center of the yard and captured the attention of most of the kids. "Hey everyone." Bella called out softly. "Renesmee is coming. When you see her, yell 'surprise'. Okay?"

Mostly everyone nodded and stared at the door expectantly. They didn't have to wait long as not a moment later Renesmee was exiting the house and gaping at the backyard. "SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled and Renesmee's face broke into the widest grin.

The birthday girl was engulfed by her friends and thrown into the mix of things. Jacob headed over to the art station as some of the kids were curiously touching things. Charlie made his way over to the 'pin the tail on the dalmatian' and some of the kids immediately gravitated towards him. "Look how happy she looks." Demetri commented once he had made his back to Bella's side. "Sorta makes me want to have kids." He admitted under his breath.

"You should." Bella piped up. "I think you would make a good father. Maybe overprotective."

One of Demetri's eyebrows rose in speculation. "What makes you say that?" He asked, mirroring her words from earlier.

Bella shrugged noncommittally. "I don't know. I just get that vibe from you."

"Interesting." Demetri replied.

Their conversation came to an end when Renesmee ran up to her mother and wrapped her arms around Bella's bare legs. With the sun shining, and the temperature rising, she had decided to wear some dark blue bermuda shorts and a red T-shirt. Before they had left to set up for the party, Jacob had teased her saying she looked like Mario and asked if he should change his clothes so he could be Luigi. "Mommy, this is so fun! Thank you for the party."

Bella leaned down and returned her daughter's hug. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"There's so many doggies! Can we keep them?" The young child jumped up and down animatedly. "Please please please?"

Bella smiled ruefully at her daughter. "Unfortunately we can't. They already have homes."

"Aw!" Renesmee pouted but it didn't last for long when Leah came by and tugged her arm.

"C'mon Re-Re! Let's play with the dogs."

Renesmee allowed Leah to lead her back towards the numerous pups and soon her attention was focused on the four legged animals.

Halfway through the party and a busted pinata later, Bella noticed the snacks dwindling. She had bought some chicken nuggets in the shape of animals the other day, and decided to pop them in the oven as they would make a great addition to the snacks outside. After all, what kid doesn't love chicken nuggets?

Once the brunette was in the kitchen, she pre-heated the oven and opened the cabinet to retrieve a cooking tray. She lined it with aluminum foil, then took the nuggets from the freezer. As she opened the bag, she heard someone entering the house from the front door. That was strange as most of the guests were in the backyard. But Bella figured it was just a late child and didn't look up from her task. She began to line the tray with nuggets but felt her blood run cold and the bag slip from her hands at the voice that came from the doorway. "Hello Isabella _Swan_."

Bella looked up slowly and her body went rigid. There _he_ stood. Edward Cullen. The man she once hoped to marry and lead a happy life. That had all changed the day his father died and he revealed his true colors...The last time Bella had seen Edward had been over six years ago. But seeing him in person, on her daughter's birthday, was like no time had passed. Even through her fear, she still could see what had drawn her to the man. His curly, bronze colored hair was untidy and doing it's own thing, giving the man a boyish look. His lean physique was only outlined by his height and unblemished, pale skin. He was attractive by many people's standards, including Bella's.

Edward took a few steps further into the kitchen and looked at Bella calmly. "You know it's rude not to return he a greeting." He said lowly, the undertones of annoyance a mere breath away.

"Hi Edward." Bella finally forced herself to say. She tried to break from his stare, but couldn't look away from the man or even move a limb.

Edward walked around the table that was separating them, then reached down and picked up the bag of chicken nuggets that she had dropped. He placed it on the table then walked back around table and leaned against the wall casually. "I take it you're surprised to see me."

It wasn't a question but Bella felt compared to answer. "Yes. What are you doing here?" When Edward crossed his arms and looked down at the tray, Bella found her eyes following his and noticed the two lone nuggets placed crookedly on the tray. She felt her body unfreezing and she was no longer paralyzed as she straightened the food.

"I needed to see you." He told her simply. "Is that so wrong?"

Bella whipped her head up and captured his gaze. "Why are you here?" She asked with forced politeness. Edward was a loose cannon and it wasn't safe for her to be around him alone. For the time being, she was going to have to play a nice host until she could get to safety or get him to leave.

Edward's impassive lips twisted slowly until a creepy leer was sent to Bella. "I think you know why I'm here." He replied. "You won't answer my calls anymore, so I had to drop by for a visit. We need to talk."

"I would appreciate if you wouldn't call me anymore." Bella tried to speak as calmly as she could. For the time being, Edward wasn't lashing at her and she wanted to keep it that way. "What do you even want to talk about with me?"

Edward pushed himself off the wall and his demeanor suddenly grew cold. He pointed an accusatory finger at her and kept his voice low. "I lost the company because of you." His fist clenched and he rested them on top of table. "This is all _your_ fault."

Bella took a half step away from the table and held up her hands in defense. "I didn't make you lose the company."

"Yes, you _did_!" When Edward realize he had raised his voice, he took a calming breath. "Yes you did." He cursed under his breath and looked at her with the intensity of a thousand livid suns. "You ruined my life." He told her, unclenching his fists and slowly making his way around the side of the table.

As he approached her, Bella backed away until she was cornered against the fridge and kitchen sink. Her breath caught in her throat and her hands began to shake as he drew nearer. She felt a cold sweat break out across her brow, and her palms became clammy.

Once Edward was upon her he poked her in the chest roughly and kept his finger there. "Why did I even date you?" He searched her eyes for something and when he didn't find it, his narrowed. "You're weak and have been dragging me down since I met you." Edward removed his hand and raised it high as though he were going to strike her.

Bella closed her eyes and waited for pain to erupt across her face. It was a familiar pain and she hoped if she braced herself, that it wouldn't hurt as much. Instead of pain, she felt a soft caress across her soft skin. When she opened her eyes, she found Edward running the back of his hand down her cheek tenderly. He looked at her with an unreadable expression and they shared a painless silence.

"I did love you." He spoke so softly that Bella almost thought she had imagined he spoke. "I really did." Edward's expression softened as he continued to talk. "Dating you wasn't awful. You used to be a woman I could see myself happy with."

Bella blinked at Edward wordlessly. Taking a trip down memory lane was painful, but before the pain, there had been happiness. "What happened?" She asked softly, breaking whatever spell Edward had fallen under.

Edward's face hardened and he removed his hand from her cheek. "You play dumb so well, sometimes I wonder if you actually don't know." Edward laughed bitterly and anger flashed across his face, distorting his laugh. "Why did you become friends with my parents?"

The conversation was really throwing Bella for a loop. She had no idea where Edward was going with his question. "I don't understand."

"Don't _play_ dumb." Edward hissed. "You started talking to Carlisle more and more out of nowhere."

"Did you not want me to have a relationship with your parents?" Bella asked nervously. She could tell by the way Edward was repeatedly clenching his hands, that they were in dangerous waters. He could strike her at any moment.

"No." He snapped. "You know that's not what I mean." Edward sighed in exasperation and seemed to calm down slightly. He leaned away from Bella and even broke eye contact with her. "For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why Carlisle had changed his will. When he died, I should've inherited the company. But he had changed it."

Bella remembered the day Carlisle had died. That was when Edward had changed so drastically. He used to be a sweet and caring boyfriend. While it was true that he was a work-aholic, Edward still seemed to care enough to try to fit Bella into his busy schedule. But after the death of his father, he became cold and standoffish. Eventually he treaded the dangerous waters of abuse before diving in headfirst and traumatizing Bella. "Why did you even date me?" Bella hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud until Edward was responding.

"I thought you were cute." Edward told her honestly with no hint of malice. "My mother always worried that I wouldn't settle down." Edward broke character and actually produce a slight smile. It was such a rarity for him that it fell just as quickly as it came. "I like being alone." He grunted before looking into Bella's wide eyes. "Carlisle really liked you." Edward's voice began to grow with irritation. "He really like the thought of having you as a daughter-in-law." Edward clenched his fist and rested it near Bella's blanched face. "I don't know what you said to him that made him change the will, and frankly, I don't care."

"I didn't say-

"You're a gold digging bitch." Edward swore, taking both of his hands and bringing them to Bella's throat.

Bella grabbed his hands and pulled at them to prevent him from choking her but found his hands immobile. Luckily he wasn't pressing down on her larynx, merely holding his hands against her skin. "Please don't hurt me." She nearly begged, trying to hold back tears as memories of their abusive past flooded her brain and caused her to shake uncontrollably.

"Shut up!" Edward snapped. "If I were going to hurt you, I would've done it already." He looked at his hands on her neck and gave a slight squeeze. "It's so tempting to end your life right now." He chuckled darkly at the frightened look she gave him. "Lucky for you, I have other plans."

The brunette stared at him wide eyed. "Plans?"

Edward glared at the woman beneath his hands and bared his teeth. "Because of you, I not only didn't get Cullens inc., but went to _prison_." He spat the last word and caused Bella to flinch. "I've had a long time to plan my revenge." He leaned in so close to her face that his hot breath flushed her face. "You ruined my life. Now I must return the favor." Edward finally dropped his hands from her and walked towards the exit. "I have eyes and ears everywhere." Were his final words to Bella before he disappeared out of the kitchen and the house.

Bella felt relief wash over her body after Edward had gone. Her body sagged against the fridge and her weak legs gave. She sank to the floor and her breath began coming in short quick gasps. "He's gone." She whispered to herself. "He's gone. He's gone. He's gone." Bella felt the room begin to spin and her head felt light. "He's…" She felt the darkness claiming her for it's own and succumbed to it helplessly as someone called out her name.

 **A/N: Well someone knows how to hold a grudge… Anywho, I meant to post this chapter earlier but I've had a very busy day. Regardless, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. And just to clarify, cuz I'm sure this may cause confusion. Bella didn't scream or run because she's in a fight or flight situation, she's the type of person who freezes. AND it was her daughter's birthday party so she didn't want to lead him to the backyard where he could potentially hurt her daughter.**


	19. The Reckoning

Chapter 19

 _You never saw coming._

 _I'm the reaper outside your door._

 _You took everything made me feel less than nothing._

 _I'm getting what I came for._

 _~The Reckoning- Halestorm_

Light slaps tapped the sides of Bella's cheeks. She couldn't figure out why, but she was having a hard time opening her eyes. Suddenly something cold and wet was touching her forehead and she finally gathered enough strength to open her eyes. Bella found herself sitting on Charlie's floor. Her back was against the fridge and her shirt had ridden up exposing her belly. She noticed a bag of chicken nuggets on the floor and many animal shaped nuggets had made it's way to the floor rendering them inedible. "Oh darn." She muttered, causing someone to exhale loudly next to her. When she turned her head, she came face to face with Demetri who was on his knees and holding something against her forehead. "What are you doing?"

Demetri removed his hand that was holding a damp cloth and sent her a concerned look. "Bella, are you alright? I came in here to check to see if you needed any help and I found you collapsed and passed out."

"Oh." Bella had a mild lapse in memory and barely remembered why she was in the kitchen. "I guess I slipped." She threw out the idea then pointed to the nuggets. "And dropped the food." Bella smiled apologetically at Demetri then attempted to stand. She ended up needing her coworkers help as she was still feeling lightheaded. "How long was I passed out?"

"Maybe a couple minutes." He replied after she was steadily standing on her own. "But don't worry about the food. I also came in to tell you that Jacob wants you to bring out the cake. It's time." He flashed her a smile with which she returned.

Bella stepped over the fallen nuggets and opened the fridge. Renesmee's large rectangular cake sat in the midst of Charlie's beer and half eaten leftovers from restaurants. It was a cute cake with white frosting and a purple rim. In the middle of the cake was a puppy that very much resembled Midnight and the words 'Happy Birthday Renesmee' was written above the dog. Bella grabbed the cake gingerly then began making her way out of the kitchen. "Demetri, the candles are on the counter. Can you bring them out for me?" She asked before leaving.

"Sure thing Bella. I'll also clean up the mess." He told her.

"Thanks!" Bella made her way into the backyard and noticed all the children running around and having a good time. They didn't pay attention to her as she made her way over to one of the tables that originally held snacks. By this time, most of the snacks were gone so she was able to make room for the cake quite easily.

Jacob suddenly morphed to her side and was wrapping an arm around her. "It looks great. This has been a good party." He kissed her cheek just as Demetri returned with candles, matches and ice cream. "I'll get the plates and silverware." Jacob disappeared into the house and Bella started sticking five candles into the cake. By the time she had finished placing the candles into the cake, Jacob had returned and set down his things beside the cake. "It's showtime!" He turned to face the yard and called the attention of all the kids. "It's time to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Renesmee. Come over to the table."

His words were barely out of his mouth when a stampede of children herded their way to the table. Leah and Renesmee ended up being at the back of the crowd. But Leah rectified this by pushing some of the kids out of her way and towing Renesmee towards the front. When they made it to the front, Renesmee looked at her cake in awe. Jacob was standing off to the side, leaned over and lit each of the candles quickly. Then the whole crowd burst into song.

 _Happy birthday to you!  
_ _Happy birthday to you!  
_ _Happy birthday dear Renesmee!  
_ _Happy birthday to you!_

Once the song was complete, Bella locked eyes with her daughter. "Make a wish and blow out the candles."

Renesmee smiled brightly then closed her eyes. She muttered something to herself quietly, then drew in a big breath and blew out the five candles in one blow.

"Yay!" Everyone cheered happily and began to line up so that they could get a slice of the cake. Of course Leah made sure that she was right behind Renesmee so that she could get the second piece.

Bella grabbed the knife and positioned it in Renesmee's hand. Keeping with tradition, she aided her daughter in cutting the first slice, then placed the slice on a plate and ushered her towards her father who was scooping out ice cream. Bella cut a piece of cake for all of the children and after getting their ice cream, they sat on the ground with the tired puppies resting beside them. Once everyone had cake, it was the grown ups time to dig in. Bella, Jacob, Demetri and Charlie each claimed a piece of the cake and stood by the tables while they ate. "I think it's safe to say that this party was a success." Bella murmured while taking another bite of cake. Something was nagging at her memory and she couldn't quite place her finger on it. But there was something she was forgetting.

"I must agree." Demetri looked at the puppies. "I'm glad they're tired. On the way here they wouldn't stop barking. But it would seem the kids have worn them out."

"Kids can do that." Charlie joked. A car honked in the driveway, and he peered around Demetri's vehicle to find a couple cars waiting idly. "Ah, some of the parents are here to pick up their kids. I guess we should start wrapping things up." Charlie set down his empty plate and rounded up the kids he knew belonged to the parents in the cars.

"Maybe we should lead everyone inside so that Renesmee can open her gifts." Jacob suggested to his wife.

"Oh right. Presents. That's a good idea." Bella placed her half eaten cake beside Charlie's empty one, then ushered the kids inside. All of them had finished their cake and ice cream and were ready to see Renesmee open her gifts.

Once all of the kids and adults were inside, Jacob walked over to the mound of gifts and passed Renesmee one on top. It was a small box wrapped in the comics from newspaper. She ripped off the wrapping paper quickly and pulled out a box that held three brightly colored bows. "Ooo! Pretty!" She exclaimed happily. One of friends, who gave her the gift, hugged her and she set it aside before opening more gifts.

Once Renesmee had opened all of her gifts from her friends, most of them had been picked up by their parents. Eventually the only person left was Leah. "Let's watch your movie." Leah suggested once everyone had gone. One of the gifts Renesmee had been given was a Blu-Ray copy of Big Hero 6.

"Can we watch it?" Renesmee asked her parents.

Bella looked at Charlie for confirmation. "I don't mind. Do you?"

Charlie pointed to his TV. "I don't see why not. While they watch the movie, you can clean up the backyard." Charlie took the movie from Renesmee's hand and put the shiny disk into the player. Once he had the movie up and running, the two girls got comfortable on the couch and soon were absorbed into the movie. Charlie took a seat on his recliner and relaxed his body.

"Let's go." Bella told her husband and Jacob. "Hopefully it won't take too long to clean up."

When they reached the backyard, they looked at the wreckage of the birthday party. While the kids hadn't been malicious during the birthday party, there was still destruction everywhere in the form of art supplies everyone, dog toys to and fro and candy littering the yard. "Well we have our work cut out for us."

Demetri's phone began to ring and he answered it in private, walking away from the couple.

"Jacob, help me take down the streamers." Bella called to her husband as she reached the fence. "We could've given some of the balloons to the kids. Too bad most of them are gone."

Jacob was soon by his wife's side and was untying the balloons from the fence. "That's okay. We can just let them be free." He told her as he released the balloons and allowed them to float away into the sky. A gentle breeze had kicked in and took the balloons for an adventure far far away. "See?"

Bella laughed lightly as she watched the balloons disappear into the rare, cloud free sky. "I guess that's easier than popping them." She replied while allowing more balloons to find a new home in the sky. After they had released all the balloons, they set about the task of removing the streamers. While they were doing this, Demetri returned and collected the puppies.

"Sorry I can't stay. My neighbor called and wants his dogs back." He smiled ruefully at Bella then picked up the last of the puppies and placed them in the bin he had used to transport them. "But maybe we could do something again soon? I enjoy hanging out with you."

Bella made a face at Demetri. "Is this code for, 'let's invite Max to more things'?" Bella had been teasing Demetri and couldn't help giggling as her coworker's cheeks took on a pink twinge. "I'll see you in school, Monday."

"I hope you feel better." Demetri looked at Bella with an unreadable expression. "Try not to faint again. That was scary."

Demetri left and Bella was whirled around by her husband who was looking at her with concern marring his usually carefree face. "You fainted? When? What happened?"

Bella looked away from him and at Charlie's house. "When I went inside to cook the nuggets."

"Why did you faint? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Bella embraced Jacob and rested her head on his chest. "He's gone." She murmured absently and shuddered as she remembered what caused her to faint. "Edward stopped by." She tried to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, but Jacob's arms tightened around her.

"What?" He asked shocked. "Did he hurt you?" Jacob released his wife and checked her body for signs of bruises or injuries.

Bella shook her head fiercely. "No. He didn't hurt me."

Jacob took a step towards the house. "What was he doing here?"

"He wanted to talk."

Jacob's face contorted into one of disbelief. "About what?"

Bella bit her bottom lip nervously. "He's angry at me. He thinks I ruined his life."

"That's rich!" Jacob snorted. "What about you? The woman he abused-" His words were cut off at the wounded look on Bella's face. "I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her and drew her near his body. "I can't believe he was here. How does he even know where Charlie live?"

Bella shrugged slowly. She hadn't really thought about how Edward had known Charlie's location. Although, when she continued to ponder, one thing stood out about Edward. He was rich. It wouldn't be hard to do a little digging. After all, Charlie worked for the Forks Police which could easily be traced through google. Surely his address was somewhere online.

"And how did he know you would be here today" Jacob looked around them nervously. "Do you think he's stalking us?"

Bella hadn't wanted to consider this to be a possibility. "Well he said he wanted to ruin my life just like I ruined his." Bella gulped at the thought; It was like Edward didn't think he hadn't already ruined her life. "And he said that he had eyes and ears everywhere."

Jacob scowled at nothing but looked around the yard. "If he comes near you again, I'll kill him." Jacob held Bella's waist protectively and looked at his wife sadly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

Surprise flickered across Bella's face. "How could you have known? Jacob, I don't blame you." Even though Renesmee's birthday party had been crashed by Edward, she still deemed it a success. "I love you." She leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed his lips gently. Jacob deepened the kiss and Bella wrapped her arms around her neck. He lifted her so she wouldn't have to stretch and the brunette wrapped her legs around her husband's waist.

"If he is watching us," Jacob spoke breathlessly. "Might as well give him a show."


	20. Little Locket

Chapter 20  
 _There's a fire in your heart, don't let it out_

 _You're just the way I prayed that you would be_

 _I will not apologize for the fire in my eyes_

 _Oh, will you put it out for me_

 _~Little Locket- Broken_

The weather continued to hold, extending to the school week. Instead of torrents of rain, the sun shined it's brilliant light and kept the rain at bay. With the temperature steady, people deemed it safe to wear Spring and Summer clothes.

Bella entered the school Monday morning feeling sluggish and haggard. The weather had given her hope to having a wonderful day, but she felt very tired and had mild aches on her body. It also didn't help that she had skipped breakfast. It wasn't intentional. She had cooked a nice breakfast for her family consisting of waffles, bacon and eggs. While she had plans to join them in the mini feast, the smell had her gagging. She craved something else, but she couldn't quite figure out what that was.

Bella lectured her classes about that week's assignment. They had finished their book, and she decided to take a break from reading to work on their writing. It would mean more essays would have to be assigned which in turn meant that she was in for some long nights. But that was the life of an English teacher and she truly did love her job.

When lunchtime finally rolled around, she grabbed her lunch and headed to the teachers lounge. She wanted to see her friends, and knew that if she didn't go to them, they would come to her. But it had been a while since she last ate lunch in the lounge. It was a nice room, dedicated to the teachers and she wanted to take advantage of it.

Upon entering, Bella found Demetri sitting at their usual table with Alice. They were both hunched over something and talking secretly. By the time Bella made it to the table, they jumped at her presence. "What's going on?" The brunette asked confused. "You two doing something illegal?"

Alice made a face at Bella then held out her wrist. "Look what Jazz sent me in the mail!" She waved her wrist in the air, letting the thin, silver bracelet catch the light and sparkle. The bracelet was very simple but it had an air to it that screamed expensive. A small heart was etched into the bracelet and outlined with what could only be real diamonds. "We're trying to guess how much it costs." Alice told Bella, recapturing her attention. "I'm thinking a few hundred."

Demetri rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist, albeit, gently. "This is clearly more than a few hundred. Those are real diamonds."

"We're not sure just yet. They could be fake." Alice said the words lightly, but anyone could hear the hope in her voice that they were real. "Regardless, this is a really nice bracelet." She placed her hand delicately back onto the table and seemed flushed with pride. "He left a note on the box that read: 'My sweet Alice, until we meet again.' Isn't that just sweet?"

"Almost sickly so." Demetri joked, but he smiled kindly to show he was only teasing her.

Bella finally took her seat at the table and smiled at her friend. "So when are you going to see him again?"

A heavy blush settled upon Alice's face. "This weekend. We're going out dancing, and then he said he has a surprise for me." Alice's eyes sparkled with curiosity and she looked at her friends excitedly. "I should go shopping!"

Bella frowned at the woman. "Alice, do you have the money for that? Aren't you behind on your bills?"

"Oh Bella." Alice waved away he concerns. "You only have one life to live. Who wants to spend it paying bills?"

"No one _wants_ to." Bella told her honestly.

"But we _have_ to." Demetri muttered grudgingly. "That's just life. Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to." As he said these words, Demetri looked at Bella with an unreadable expression.

"Well I don't care." Alice marveled at her bracelet some more. "I'm going shopping after school," She glanced at her friends who were giving her reproachful stares. "But I'll go easy on my money."

Bella sent Alice a half-smile. "Good. We don't want your electricity to get turned off. Or worse, you getting kicked out of the apartment."

Alice laughed at the thought. "That's not going to happen. Don't worry." But she chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll only look at things in the clearance…"

The teachers continued eating their lunch and chatting amicably. Bella had packed herself a simple turkey sandwich, bag of chips and can of pop. She took a bite of her sandwich and found that she couldn't stomach it. Just having it sit on her tongue had her ready to retch. Her chips smelled wrong and the pop was too fizzy. She packed up her lunch regretfully and threw it away. While she hated wasting food, she also couldn't force anything on her obviously sensitive stomach.

"Why aren't you eating?" Demetri asked her when he noticed that Bella had pitched her lunch.

"I don't really have much of an appetite today." She told him honestly.

"I hope you aren't coming down with something."

"I doubt it. I feel fine." Bella realized this wasn't completely true as now coupled with fatigue, she wasn't eating either. "Then again, ya never know. Maybe I have a stomach bug or something." The conversation turned away from Bella and the teachers continued eating their lunches and talking about mundane things.

After lunch had ended, the rest of the school day sped by for Bella. Teaching several classes tended to be tedious as she repeated the same information but to different students. Bella loved her job though, so it didn't bother her as much as it would some teachers who hated their job. But by the end of the day, during her last class, she found her voice losing emphasis and falling into a monotonous tone. When there was only twenty minutes left before the end of class, she noticed Jane staring at her. While all of the students had their eyes trained on her, Jane's face wasn't filled with boredom or mild interest in how to use hyperboles effectively. No, Jane's face was full of speculation and had her eyes narrowed at Bella as if she were trying to figure out something about her. Bella repressed a shudder at the stare as she didn't want to tip her student off that she was in fact scaring her. Why did Jane seem so intent upon figuring out things Bella didn't wish her to know?

When the final bell rang, dismissing her class, Bella couldn't have been happier. She would be rid of Jane's stare, at least until the next day. As she was packing up her things, a couple students stopped by her desk to ask a couple questions about the assignment. While Bella was answering, she noticed Jane lingering behind and knew the girl was going to try to question her again. So she used her students as a diversion and made sure to speak slowly. Once their questions were answered successfully, she had finished packing her things and escorted them from the room. Jane had no choice but to follow them out into the crowded hall. "Have a good afternoon." She told her students before making a beeline for Alice's classroom. Jane didn't bother following after her, as there were too many students in the hallway, and Bella made sure to walk fast.

"Alice!"

Alice jumped upon hearing her name and whirled around to face Bella. She had a splotch of red paint dripping off of her cheek, and her clothes were a multitude of colors because of the day's assignment. "Bella, shit! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Bella closed Alice's door, and looked around the empty room quickly. "Sorry. I just came to tell you I'm ready to go."

Alice sent Bella a funny look. "Did you forget I'm going shopping?" The pixie haired woman took out a small mirror from her desk and examined her face. Upon seeing the paint, she rolled her eyes, then grabbed a tissue and tried to clean it off. "Some kids thought it would be funny to throw paint at each other." Alice finished cleaning off the paint and gestured to her outfit. "Look at me, I look terrible." Her hands flitted over the dried paint stains. "Well, they're both suspended for a week so that will be nice." Alice grabbed her purse and hurried to the door. "Did you want to go shopping with me?"

Bella hadn't planned on it. She wanted to go home, grade some papers and relax. Just as she was about to reluctantly agree, Demetri came barreling down the hall towards them. "Oh good, there you are." Demetri was slightly out of breath and some of his hair had fallen across his face. "Big news! We're going out Saturday!" He grinned at the women and a light blush flittered across his face. "Max is coming."

"This sounds like juicy gossip." Alice grinned and motioned them back into her classroom. Once they were inside, she closed the door. "Spill."

Demetri ran a hand through his hair that had grown considerably. "Ok, so I ran into him after my last class. He apologized for kissing me and tried to tell me he was a hundred percent straight." Demetri snorted and leaned against the door. "Well, I told him I didn't care about the kiss. Then told him we were all going out to the Victoria's tavern again on Saturday. He asked if he could come too, and I said yes." Demetri couldn't help smiling at the thought. "So is that ok? Will y'all come?"

"Fine with me. I'll even bring Jacob." Bella replied.

Alice placed her hands on her hips and sighed in exasperation. "I'm going on my date that day." She cursed under her breath and dramatically rubbed her temples. "I like going to the tav, darn you Demetri." She turned to Bella and took her hands. "Tell me everything that happens that night."

"Of course." Bella responded. "I know how much you love your gossip."

"You know it." Alice winked then looked up at the clock. "I have to go! There is a special clearance sale at Macy's that ends 5!" Before the two teachers could blink their eyes, the art teacher had escaped the room, leaving them alone.

"Saturday will be fun." Demetri murmured, then looked at Bella with surprise. "Oh, I can give you a ride home. I know Alice usually gives you one."

"Thanks Demetri."

It didn't take the teachers long to reach Bella's apartment. When Demetri had parked, Bella exited the car and was surprised when Demetri followed her. "I have something for Renesmee." He told her. "Late birthday gift."

"That's nice of you." Bella lead the way inside the apartment and as she was unlocking her door, she heard a slight creaking noise behind her. She sighed as she knew it was Caius.

True to her suspicions, a grunt noise behind them had her and Demetri turning around to see Caius glaring at the pair. "I swear you stomp up the stairs so loudly on purpose. Do you think you could quiet down?" He snapped. Upon seeing Demetri, his scowl only deepened. "What, are you throwing a party? Might I remind you that you and your _family_ aren't the only people who live in this building? Keep the noise down!" Caius slammed his door shut and Demetri sent Bella a confused stare.

"What's his deal?"

Bella shrugged. "Beats me. Alice thinks he needs to get laid."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON?!" Caius screamed from behind his door.

Bella stifled her giggles, but ushered Demetri inside her apartment quickly before Caius could return to yell at them more. Once they were inside, she locked her door and breathed a sigh of relief. "He can wear on your nerves." She muttered.

Renesmee happened to be in the living room watching TV with Midnight playing at her feet. "Hi mommy." She greeted upon spotting her mother. When she noticed that Demetri was with her, she sent him a wave. "Hi Dee-dee!"

"Dee-dee?" Demetri looked at Bella with amusement.

"Your name is really long." Bella shrugged then took a seat next to Renesmee on the couch. "Where is your father?"

Renesmee pointed towards the back of the house. "He's in his room."

"Figures." Bella looked up at Demetri. "He has a gift for you since your birthday was a few days ago."

"Oooo! What is it?"

Demetri reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in tissue paper. He removed it and opened the box to reveal a small golden locket with a wolf pendant hanging from it. "It's the closest thing to a dog I could find." He told Bella sheepishly.

"It's beautiful!" Renesmee squealed, reaching out and pulling it from the box. "Look mommy!" Renesmee held up the necklace and it sparkled delicately.

"How nice. Here, let me help you put it on." Bella took the necklace from her daughter, then clipped it around her neck. "There you go."

Renesmee beamed with pride then stood from the couch abruptly. "I'm going to go show daddy!" She zipped from the room with Midnight yipping at her heels.

"That was really nice of you." Bella told Demetri. "I hope it didn't cost too much."

"Nah, it was nothing." Demetri told her.

"It's funny, Jacob gave me a bracelet once that had a wolf charm on it. But I lost it years ago." She smiled ruefully. "It was really nice of you to get something for Renesmee."

"She's a great kid." Demetri spoke softly, then looked at his feet bashfully. "Uh, I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow at school." Without another word, Demetri exited the apartment, leaving Bella to feel bewildered as to his sudden departure.

 **A/N: First update of the year! Many more to come~**


	21. Who Can It Be Now

Chapter 21  
 _All I wish is to be alone;_

 _Stay away, don't you invade my home._

 _Best off if you hang outside,_

 _Don't come in, I'll only run and hide.  
~Who Can It Be Now?- Men at Work_

On Thursday evening, Bella opened the refrigerator and pulled out a jar of pickles. She opened the jar and pulled out the last pickle with her fingers, leaving the opened jar on the counter. The brunette opened her mouth and took a big bite, relishing in the crunch. She chewed the salty vegetable and wiped her mouth as some of the juices ran down her chin.

"I swear that's the second jar you've gone through this week." Jacob commented, wrinkling his nose as she continued to eat the pickle. "You barely eat anything, and then when you do, it's pickles?" Jacob glanced at the empty jar and chuckled. "Is this some new weird diet?"

Bella took another bite of the pickle and held it delicately in her hand. "I just like pickles." She said between bites. "Don't judge me." She popped the rest of the pickle into her mouth and felt a wave of sadness flow through her when she had finished it. "I need to go shopping." She told her husband then side eyed the jar, half filled with pickle juice.

"Uh, Bella?"

Bella tore her eyes from the jar and looked at her husband. "What?"

"I know you're not going to drink that...right?" Jacob motioned to the pickle juice.

"Jacob," Bella scoffed in disgust. "That's nasty!"

Jacob laughed then headed into the living room. "Alright, well I'll go get you some more pickles, since you seem to love them so much."

"Thanks!" After Jacob had gone, Bella grabbed the pickle jar and walked over to the sink. As she tilted it to allow the green juice to fall into the sink, she paused in her ministrations and looked at the liquid. "Hm." She brought the jar to her lips and took a sip. The salty juice made it's way down her throat with a satisfying slosh, and Bella soon found herself downing the entire jar. After she had finished, she tossed the jar into the trash and whipped her mouth. "Surprisingly delicious."

"I knew it." Jacob muttered from the doorway.

Bella whirled around to find her husband gawking at her. "I thought you went to the store." She spoke calmly, trying not to look suspicious.

Jacob glanced around her at the trash can where the empty pickle jar was resting. "I was joking. You clearly have an addiction to pickles and I don't want to fuel it." He wrinkled his nose as he wasn't the biggest fan of the salty vegetable. "I'm going to take Midnight for a walk with Renesmee." He tossed his wife the keys to his car. "If you want more pickles," Jacob shuddered. "Go ahead and buy some."

Bella watched him latch Midnight to the leash and head outside with Renesmee. She looked down at the keys in her hand then at the empty pickle jar. "I do want more pickles." She murmured to herself, before heading out the door. Bella didn't need to grab an umbrella as the weather was holding up, and it hadn't rained in over a week. Everyone in Forks were taking advantage of the weather by ditching their umbrellas and raincoats.

As Bella descended the stairs, she noticed Alice was exiting her apartment. "Hey Bella. Where are you off to?" Alice asked upon spotting her friend and fellow co worker.

"Just stopping by the grocery store." She told her truthfully. "What about you?"

Alice followed Bella outside and the two women walked up the driveway where their cars were parked. "I managed to buy an outfit, but silly me, I forgot to get new shoes! Come with me. I'll drive you to the store after we get my shoes."

"Sure." Bella always enjoyed the woman's company and any excuse to not have to drive Jacob's stick shift car. "But don't you think you should be saving your money? You're such a heavy spender."

Alice unlocked her car doors and took the driver's seat while Bella sat next to her. "It's alright. I'm not going to spend more than fifty bucks. And if I don't buy food for a couple days, I'll be fine."

Bella sighed and thought about the leftovers she had in her fridge. "You still like lasagna right?"

Alice sped out of the driveway and hurried down the street. "You have to be soulless to not enjoy lasagna. Just ask Garfield."

"I'll take that as a yes." Bella chuckled lightly. "Well, we have some left. It should feed you for a couple days."

"Sounds good to me." Alice smiled and put the pedal to the medal.

When they made it to the shoe store, Alice searched up and down the aisles for the perfect shoe. The two women spent nearly an hour inside the store while Alice tried on shoe after shoe. Bella passed Alice her umpteenth shoe and Alice waved it away with her hand. "What's wrong with this one?" Bella asked in exasperation.

"I already own it." Alice said simply. "In three colors actually."

Bella placed the shoe back on the shelf when her eyes came across a red and purple rhinestone heel that was at least three inches tall. While the thought of wearing the shoe made Bella shudder in horror, she knew Alice wouldn't feel the same way. Bella grabbed the shoes and held them in front of Alice. "I think I've found your shoe."

Alice took the heels from Bella and tried them on. "Oh my gosh!"

Bella's smile fell and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "What's wrong with them?"

Alice grinned at her friend. "Nothing! They're perfect!"

A sudden chorus of applause rang throughout the store and one of the cashiers came over to grab Alice's shoes. "We're very happy you found the perfect shoe." The woman stated, then glanced at the pile of shoes Alice had tried on. Her smile slipped and she pointed to the register. "If you would step over here, we'll ring you out immediately."

Alice, oblivious to the woman's intentions of getting her out of the store as quickly as possible, followed her to the register, elated to have found the perfect shoes. "It matches my dress perfectly." Alice told Bella. "I'm going to have the best weekend."

"I'm glad Alice."

The cashier looked up after scanning the shoes and her fake smile was barely holding up. "Wait, you're Alice? Alice Brandon?"

Alice nodded slowly, confusion marring her small face. "Yes? How do you know my name?"

The cashier handed Alice the shoes and gritted her teeth. "Someone paid for your shoes earlier. They said that if Alice Brandon came in to give her this note." The cashier pulled out a small red card and passed it to Alice.

She opened the note and read it quickly.

 _To my lovely Alice.  
You've walked into my heart._

 _So enjoy some new shoes._

 _Till we meet again._

Alice closed the note and held it close to her heart. "He is so thoughtful." She grabbed the shoes and looked at Bella with tears in her eyes. "I'm so lucky to have such a sweet guy in my life."

As Alice left, Bella overheard a convo with the cashier.

"Can you believe she tried on 35 pairs of shoes? And didn't put any back!"

"I hate my life. Help me put away the shoes."

Bella frowned and glanced back at the workers who seemed annoyed at the fact that Alice had left a mess. Not that she could blame them.

"I can't believe he would do this!" Alice looked down at her shoes with a grin. "I told him before that I love shopping but that sometimes I can get carried away." She looked down at her new pair. "He's such a sweetheart."

Bella didn't seem as convinced and actually voiced her concerns. "How could he have known that you were coming to this shoe store?"

"Well Bella, there aren't many shoe stores in Forks. It couldn't have been that hard to use some deductive reasoning." Alice popped open her trunk and tossed in the shoes.

"How could he have known that you were coming today?"

Alice raised a brow at Bella's questioning. "It's not like we don't text. I told him I was going shopping earlier."

Bella decided to ease up on her questioning as she was probably looking too much into it. "Well, then it was very nice of him to do that for you."

They drove to grocery store and Bella immediately headed to the pickle aisle. She had grabbed a cart as she wanted to do some light shopping. Alice watched her scanning the large jar of pickles and sent her a skeptical look. "What is with you and pickles? I swear I haven't seen you eat anything else in days. You're going to get fat."

Bella grabbed a couple jars of dill pickles that looked extra juicy and placed them into her cart. "Pickles actually don't have any calories, so I'll be fine."

"Whatever." Alice mumbled.

After Bella had finished with the pickle aisle, she picked up some milk, cheese and chicken wings. As she was passing by the baked goods, she noticed a coconut cake that was beckoning to her. She grabbed a couple boxes of the cake and placed it in the cart content.

"Okay, first pickles, now coconut cake? Who likes coconuts?" Alice frowned at the cake and scoffed in distaste. "You are on one weird food kick, I swear."

Bella merely smiled at her friend, then headed to the checkout lane. As they were waiting behind a woman with a full cart, Bella looked around the store absentmindedly. Her gaze fell upon a man who was dressed like a detective with a long brown coat, matching fedora hat that was large enough to shield most of his face in a creepy shadow. "Hey Alice, you see the guy in the fedora? How creepy does he look to you?"

Alice didn't bother looking up. "Well if he's wearing a fedora, he must be a grade A douchebag."

Bella couldn't help laughing at her friend as she agreed.

Finally, the cashier rung out the woman with the filled cart, and Bella was able to load her items onto the conveyor belt. The cashier saw Bella's two jars of pickles and sent her a knowing look that only confused Bella. Few words were exchanged before the women were returning to Alice's car with Bella's groceries.

"He bought my shoes." Alice said suddenly, throwing Bella a large grin. "I can get food!" She sped out of the parking lot and stopped by the closest fast food restaurant. "Do you want anything Bella?" Alice offered while contemplating her order.

"Is that bacon ice cream?" Bella pointed to the special of the month and felt her mouth salivate. "Get me one of those."

Alice ordered herself a full meal and Bella's ice cream. "Are you still going to give me the lasagna? I was looking forward to it."

"Of course." Bella told her. After she received her ice cream, she tasted it tentatively and relished in the salty sweet flavor. "Wow, this is amazing!"

"Glad you like it." Alice munched on her burger while she drove them home.

As they were cruising down the street, Bella consumed her ice cream with much vigor. She happened to be gazing out the side view mirror when she noticed a car behind them. The driver looked similar to that weird detective looking man from the grocery store. "Hey look, that fedora dude is behind us."

Alice peeked in her rearview mirror and blanched. "Bella! That's him! That's Aro!"

Bella spat out some of her ice cream and it stained the dashboard much to Alice's chagrin. "What? Are you sure?"

Alice nodded rigidly while speeding down the street. She quickly pulled into the driveway to their apartment and raced inside. After grabbing her bags, Bella followed her. Once they were in the safety of Alice's home, the women peered out the window to see if Aro was still there. He had parked outside the apartment and was looking at the building from the comfort of his car. Alice cursed loudly and closed her curtains. "Now he knows where I live! What am I going to do?"

"We can call the police! This is stalking and I'm pretty sure it's illegal." Bella opened the curtain and looked out slowly. "Oh, he's gone! Look!"

Alice took Bella's place and sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness." She placed a hand over her fast beating heart and leaned against the window. "I feel better now."

"Just make sure you keep your doors and windows locked okay? But he doesn't know which apartment you're in right?"

Alice shook her head slowly. "He shouldn't." She chewed on her lip nervously. "I really hope not."

"I'm sure he doesn't." Bella affirmed. "But seriously, make sure your windows and doors are definitely locked. If you ever feel uncomfortable, you are more than welcome to sleep on our couch."

Alice smiled gratefully at her friend. "You do have a nice couch."

"I like to think so." Bella smiled then grabbed her bags. "Here, I managed to grab your shoes while I got my bags." She passed her the free pair of heels and headed for the door. "See ya later Alice. Stay safe."

"Will do." Alice replied while looking fondly at her new shoes.


	22. We Gotta Get Out of This Place

Chapter 22  
 _We gotta get out of this place_

 _If it's the last thing we ever do_

 _We gotta get out of this place_

 _Girl, there's a better life_

 _For me and you  
We Gotta Get Out of This Place- The Animals_

Bella opened her mouth and pushed the last of the pickle inside. She chewed it noisily much to the disgust of her colleagues. "What?" She asked slowly.

"That's just nasty." Alice muttered, taking a bite of the lasagna Bella had given her the previous day.

It was finally Friday and everyone seemed to be excited for the end of the school day so that their weekend could begin. Even the students were behaving for the most part, and the day seemed to be going by flawlessly. Bella, Alice and Demetri had taken their normal lunch table in the teachers lounge and were chatting about their upcoming plans.

"I can't wait for Saturday." Alice sipped her iced tea with a pleased smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I can thank him for the gifts and we'll have a lovely night."

Demetri munched on some pretzels and glanced at Bella. "She seems to be in L-O-V-E."

"It would seem so." Bella concurred.

"You're going to have to tell us all about your date on Monday." Demetri told her seriously. "You can't leave out any detail."

Alice nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!" She took another bite of her lasagna before speaking again. "You have to do the same. Aren't you going to the tavern?"

"We are." Demetri couldn't help the light blush that danced across his cheeks. "It's so nice to have Max talking to me again."

"Demetri, you're too cute." Alice commented. "Who else is going to the tavern?"

Demetri took a swig of his pop before answering. "Well aside from me, Bella and Max, I invited Corin since she seems to love hanging out with us."

Alice and Bella exchanged glances. "There might be a reason for that." Alice muttered under her breath.

"What?" Demetri looked at the women with confusion.

"Nothing." Alice replied. "So just the four of you?"

"And Jacob." Bella piped in. "He's coming too."

"I would've invited Julia too, but as it turns out, she doesn't work here anymore." Demetri shrugged and chewed on another pretzel.

"Since when?" Alice gasped, shocked by the information.

"Beats me." Demetri replied honestly. "But there was that sex scandal with some students a few weeks ago, and I going to assume there is a correlation." Demetri shrugged and munched on another pretzel. "But who really knows. Maybe the school is trying to avoid a lawsuit."

Alice frowned at Demetri's words. "Poor Julia. She was going through that divorce too. Her life sucks."

Bella pulled a slice of coconut cake out of her lunch bag and took a large bite. Demetri and Alice exchanged glances and looked at her as though she had sprouted two heads. "What?" Bella asked between bites.

"First pickles, now cake? You are going to make yourself sick." Demetri commented.

Bella shrugged, enjoying the taste of the sweet cake on her pallet. "I'll be fine." She polished off the rest of her cake as the bell rang, ending their lunch. The teachers headed their separate ways to their classrooms, ready for the day to be over.

At the end of the day, Bella wasn't surprised when Jane came up to her desk at the end of class with a 'question'. She had managed to avoid the student all week, but she had gotten side tracked with her plans for the following day, which caused her to fall behind in packing up her things. By the time she had gathered her thoughts, all of the students had left the room-well, all of them except for one. Jane. "What can I do for you Jane?" Bella asked politely, even though the student grated on her nerves.

Jane, as usual, had her short pale brown hair pushed behind her ears. Gray eyes were locked onto Bella's with a quiet intensity. "It was a porno wasn't it?"

She spoke so softly that Bella almost didn't hear her. "I beg your pardon?"

"Porn. That's where I saw you from. I'm right aren't I?" Jane looked pleased with herself while Bella merely looked bewildered. "That's why you didn't want me to remember where I've seen you."

Bella tried to remain expressionless but couldn't help allowing her face to show just how flabbergasted Jane had made her. "You watch porn?"

Jane shifted uncomfortably in front of Bella's desk. "No, but my brother does. I've caught looking at some weird things." Jane looked down at her feet, then seemed to shake the feeling of uncomfortability and looked directly into Bella's eyes. "So you admit it, you're a pornstar?"

Bella sputtered a laugh and had to quickly take a swig of the room temperature water sitting in a bottle on her desk. "Jane, I have not been in any pornos. And also this topic is not school appropriate so I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from asking such things." After clearing her throat with the water, she placed it back onto her desk. "But thanks for the laugh."

Jane seemed let down by Bella's response and walked towards the door. "I swear I've seen you somewhere."

"Why is it that big of a deal?" Bella asked her seriously. "You seem really adamant on trying to figure out my secrets." Bella smiled at her student. "Trust me, I'm just your regular ol' teacher. Nothing special about me."

Jane pursed her lips, but didn't say anything more as she left the classroom.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief once her student had gone. She felt that Jane would finally give up her crazy search for where she had recognized Bella. Bella knew that if Jane had seen her anywhere, it was most likely from the news from when Edward had lost his mind at their wedding and tried to kill Jacob. It had been years since the incident and she wanted to move past it, but it seemed like even Edward himself wouldn't allow her to move on with her life.

After Bella had made it home, courtesy of Alice, she found her husband cooking dinner. "Oh no…" Bella entered the kitchen to find it reeking of garlic. Her vision swam briefly as the air was thick with pungent smell. It assaulted her nose and caused the poor woman to lean against the doorway of the kitchen as she felt her stomach to churn.

"Hey Bella!" Jacob greeted happily. "I saw the lasagna was gone, so I thought I'd make some spaghetti." His smile slipped when he saw the look on his wife's face. "Are you okay?"

Bella's stomach lurched and she turned from the room and skittered into the bathroom. She had barely made it to the toilet before she was puking up her guts. Pickle juice mixed with halfway digested coconut cake spewed from her lips and into the porcelain bowl. Bella could hear her daughter exiting her bedroom, and barely managed to close the door so she wouldn't be subjected to seeing her mother in such a state. She continued vomiting into the toilet until her stomach had emptied it's contents.

Afterward, she flushed and rinsed her mouth out with water. But unfortunately she could still taste pickles and coconut on her tongue. While it tasted delicious going down, coming back up was another story. Once she left the bathroom, she began to feel better, until she took in the smell of garlic. Her stomach seemed extra sensitive to the smell and if there was anything left in her stomach, she would have promptly upchucked.

Bella hurried by the kitchen and began opening all the windows in the living room, hoping to alleviate some of the smell. As she was taking in a deep breath of the fresh air, she felt warm arms engulf her from behind. "Honey, are you okay?"

The arms around her felt so soft and strong, she couldn't help leaning her weight backwards to rest against her husband. "I'm fine Jake. I just didn't expect you to be cooking spaghetti today." She patted her stomach gently. "I wasn't ready."

Jacob nuzzled into the back of her head, and she ended up with mussed hair. "I put too much garlic, didn't I?"

"Maybe a little." Bella turned around so that she could face him. "But it's alright. I'm fine." She leaned up to kiss him on the lips, but remembered that she had just vomited. So instead, she kissed his cheek sweetly. "But Alice will definitely be happy that you cooked your famous spaghetti."

Jacob grinned at his wife. "I made extra just for her." He admitted, then took Bella's hand and led her to the couch. "Do you want a pickle or something?"

Bella couldn't help her lips twitching into a smile. "Maybe later." She patted the seat next to her and Jacob quickly took it, resting his head on top of her shoulder. "How was work?"

"Pretty normal. Is it weird I'm still angry that I never got paid for my time in South Carolina?"

"Of course not." Bella scowled when she thought of the money Jacob had been promised, and then he had been robbed because of errors with the company. "I still don't understand how they think they gave you the money, but you didn't receive it."

Jacob sighed in exasperation. "One of life's mysteries." He muttered in annoyance. The couple sat in a comfortable silence for a while, and the only noise they could hear was their daughter in her room playing with Midnight. "There is something I've been thinking about." Jacob side glanced at his wife who peered up at him curiously.

"What is it?"

"How do you feel about moving?"

"Moving?" Bella thought about their apartment. They had lived there for as long as Renesmee had been born. She could still remember buying all the furniture, spending weeks assembling it until the place felt like home. She and Jacob had to sleep on an air mattress for nearly a month because their bed had been on backorder. Meeting their neighbors had been quite the experience. Maggie and Liam, the elderly couple downstairs, had cooked them a welcoming casserole that had fed them for days. Alice and Bella became fast friends which only intensified when they found out that they were coworkers. Meeting Caius had been quite the ordeal as he was very abrasive even on their meeting. Bella had made it her mission to avoid him at all costs, which worked out well for the most part. Bella had grown to love their apartment and all it's quirks. "Why do you want to move? Do you not like it here?"

Jacob looked around their cozy home with unabashed fondness. "I love our apartment. But I don't like that Edward knows where we live."

"We don't know that for sure." Bella murmured. But even she heard the falseness in her ears.

"He has our numbers, he threatened you at _Charlie's house_." Jacob's body tensed as he recalled Renesmee's birthday. "I don't want him to be able to hurt you, or Renesmee."

Bella thought about Edward's threat. He wanted her life to suffer the way his had. Clearly he had lost his mind and didn't even think about how he had already messed up her life. "If he's watching us, won't he know if we move?" Bella asked quietly.

Jacob cursed under his breath. "I didn't think about that. Maybe we should leave the country."

"Jacob." Bella looked into her husband's eyes warmly. "I don't think fleeing the country is the right thing to do. Besides, we have steady jobs right now. Do you know how hard it is to find employment?"

"I know, I know." Jacob sighed in defeat. "I just want to keep my family safe."

Bella took Jacob's hand and ran her thumb over his knuckles. "For now, we're okay. If Edward tries anything crazy, we will call the police and send him right back to jail. Where he belongs." Bella spoke with confidence that she didn't feel. She was scared of Edward, yes. But he hadn't tried anything. A part of her was hoping that Edward had made empty threats to her to scare her and make her paranoid. Then again, empty threats weren't Edward's forte. He always came through with his promises. _Always_.

 **A/N: Is anyone still reading this story? I realize that it hasn't been updated in a year, and for that, I apologize greatly. For the next 4 weeks, I will update every Monday. If you've stuck with the story since the beginning, I'm sorry for the wait! But I hope you continue to enjoy this story :)**


	23. My Way

Chapter 23  
 _Baby, won't you come my way?  
Got something I want to say._

 _Cannot keep you out my brain._

 _But first off I'ma start by saying this, ayy_

 _~My Way- Fetty Wap_

Bella wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and flushed the toilet. She had been feeling nauseous all day, and finally her stomach couldn't take it anymore and had her expelling her lunch into the toilet. She felt grimy after puking and hopped in the shower to cleanse herself. Later that night, she would be going to the Victoria's tavern, and hoped that she wouldn't be making friends with the dirty toilets in the bathroom.

After she showered and brushed her teeth, she felt better and slipped into some comfortable clothes, then shuffled into the living room. The house still held a mild garlic smell that her nose wrinkling. Jacob was sitting on the couch, still in his pj's, messing around on his laptop. "Hey Jake, what are you doing?" Bella asked as she took a seat next to him and flipped on the television.

"Well, fleeing the country seemed like a crazy idea. But moving still seems like the way to go." Jacob angled his laptop so that Bella could see what he was searching. She found numerous houses and apartments in their area and how much they were selling for or rent prices. "Look, some of these places are close to the police station. What lunatic would dare attack anyone who lived there?"

Bella squinted her eyes at a house that was selling for almost $300,000. "Jacob, I don't think we can afford a house like that. No matter how safe it is." She told him reluctantly. "That is a nice house though."

Jacob scrolled down to a different, more affordable place, that happened to be an apartment. "What about here? It's also near the police station."

"You want to move out of an apartment just to move to a different one?" She looked at the place skeptically. "Plus, they don't allow dogs. I don't want to be in danger of getting kicked out. Or losing Midnight." She told him seriously.

"Oh, that would suck." Jacob sighed heavily and pointed to a quaint house that was around the rent they were paying now making it in their budget. "What about this place?"

Bella scanned through the pictures of the house and pursed her lips. It was a single story, ranch style house with two bedrooms, one and half bath, a small front porch and large backyard. The previous owners were renting out the house and allowed pets so Midnight would be able to live there without fear. The house was also over an hour away from both Bella and Jacob's place of work, meaning their commute would be long. "I don't know Jacob, it's a cute house but it's really far."

"It's in one of the safest neighborhoods in the state." Jacob told her excitedly. "There's a Filmores down there, so I'm sure I can request to be transferred there."

"What about me?" Bella frowned at the thought of leaving Forks High School. Sure, Jane was becoming troublesome, but she enjoyed working there. Alice and Demetri were her friends and she doubted she would find better coworkers at a different school. "I don't want to have drive an hour to and from work."

Jacob's smile began to fall. "Well maybe you could work at a school within that district."

"I don't want to leave Forks, Jake."

"Bella, we would be safer there." Jacob ran a hand through his hair in annoyance. "Well, how about you think about it. Can you do that for me?"

"Fine." Bella snapped, rising from the couch. "I'll think about it." She left the living room to seek solace in their bedroom.

Bella had no intentions of uprooting their family and moving so far from the place they called home. Edward would have to do more than make measly threats before she would consider moving to a different city.

Later that evening, Bella slipped into a crimson, strapless dress that hugged her waist before flaring out and stopping just short of her knees. Normally the dress fit perfectly, but that night, it seemed to hug her extra tightly. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it reminded Bella of what Alice had said the other day. She'd joked that Bella would gain weight from eating all those pickles. While Bella knew that pickles were zero-calorie foods, the coconut cake she had been scarfing down by the boatloads, were definitely not low cal. She looked at her stomach that definitely seemed bigger than normal and sighed. She would need to cut back on the cake if she wanted to retain her figure.

Jacob entered the room as Bella was slipping into some comfortable black flats. "Charlie just picked up Renesmee. He said he'll drop her off tomorrow in the afternoon after taking her to see a movie."

"What movie is he taking her to see?" Bella asked curiously.

"Some movie about yellow blobs. I think they're trying to take over the world or something." Jacob shrugged uninterestedly. "It's a children's movie, that's all that matters."

"Oh, okay." She walked by her husband and fiddled with her jewelry on the dresser. "Well I hope she enjoys it."

"Hey." Jacob reached out and grabbed her arm gently. "Are you mad at me about the house?" When Bella didn't look at her husband, he released her and sighed. "I didn't mean to make you angry, Bella."

Bella felt her shoulders sag. She knew Jacob was only looking out for her and Renesmee. "I know. I just, I don't like the idea of leaving right now. We _live_ here. This is _our_ home." She looked her husband in his big brown eyes and felt her heart stutter at the love in them. "He can't take that from us."

Jacob smiled softly at his wife then leaned down and captured her lips with his own. "Alright Bella. We'll stay." He whispered against her lips before kissing her again. "Ya know, since we have the house to ourselves later, we could have some fun."

Bella pushed her husband away playfully. "You horndog." She winked at him then headed into the living room. "We'll see."

The couple finished getting ready, then made their way to Victoria's Tavern. As usual, with it being a Saturday night, the place was jumping with people of various ages. Most of the barely legal adults were overtaking the crowded dance floor while the older adults took over the bar and ordered various drinks. As usual, the tavern reeked of booze and fried foods. The smell had Bella's stomach feeling uneasy, and she almost considered returning home. But just as she made up her mind to retreat, she locked her sights on her coworkers and Demetri waved her over. She was surprised when she found Demetri, Max and Corin sitting at the same circular booth they had occupied weeks ago when they had first gone to the tavern together. Bella took Jacob's hand, then wove her way through the crowd until she made it to the booth.

"Hey Bella, Jacob!" Demetri greeted when they made it to the booth. Corin had made sure to sit next to Demetri and Max was sitting on the opposite side of the booth. Jacob decided to sit next to Max, while Bella sat on the other side of Demetri. Everyone, minus Bella and Jacob, already had a drink in front of them. "So how are you?"

Bella looked at Jacob who reached out and took her hand on top of the table. "We're okay. Happy for the weekend."

"Amen to that!" Corin lifted her drink to her lips and took a sip of the pink liquid. "Those kids at school are crazy, I swear. Did y'all hear about the drug scandal?"

"What drug scandal?" Demetri asked curiously.

"Wait, you didn't hear about it?" Max interjected. "It's been all over the school!"

Demetri looked between his coworkers then chanced a glance at Bella. "Have you heard about this?" When Bella shook her head no, he looked to Corin and Max for answers.

"Principal Greene has been selling drugs at the school!" Corin took another sip of her drink and wiped her mouth cutely. "Can you believe that? Apparently he's been doing it for years."

"But that's not even the kicker," Max chimed in, receiving the full attention of Demetri, Bella and even Jacob. "He's been selling it to some of the teachers, and some students!"

"You're joking!" Demetri covered his mouth in surprise. "Students?"

"Yeah." Max couldn't help chuckling. "Fucking crackheads. He sold it to _select_ students, who basically acted as dealers and sold it to their friends and shit." Max downed his beer and set the empty mug on the table. "How he kept this underwraps is beyond me."

"The police are going to be doing checks on all the teachers classrooms during the weekend to see if anyone was hiding anything." Corin told him. "I'm so happy I'm not a part of that. I do not want to be caught up in that." Demetri, Max and Bella made noises of agreement. "But, I do know for a fact that the secretary, Mrs. Cope, was definitely caught with a lot of drugs at her station. So along with a new principal, we're going to be getting a new secretary too. It's going to be an interesting next week."

"Wait, we're getting a whole new principal? What about V.P. Berty? Isn't he just going to get bumped up from vice principal to just principal?" Bella asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

Corin tore her gaze from Demetri and shrugged. "That's not what I've been hearing. I heard they want to bring in a whole new principal. But regardless, I guess we'll find out on Monday what the hell is going on."

Jacob couldn't help laughing at the conversation. "You're school seems very intriguing. Almost like a soap opera."

"Tell me about it." Corin had finished her pink drink and sat her glass in front of Max's empty mug. "I swear it feels like school takes over your life when you're a teacher. All I do is eat, sleep and breathe history."

"You aren't alone." Max told her comfortingly. But Corin merely shot him a disdainful look. To ease the awkward silence that began to reign, Max offered to get everyone some food. "What would y'all like to eat?"

Corin and Demetri peered at the small, laminated menu that was sitting on table near the condiments. "Do we all like wings?" Demetri asked, glancing at everyone at the table. He received collective nods and smiled at Max. "We can just share some wings and maybe fries. Sound good?"

"Fine with me." Corin replied.

"Sounds good to me." Jacob spoke. Then he looked at his wife. "I know you have been weird with food lately. Are you okay with wings?"

Bella thought about it and was about to resign herself when she noticed that they sold fried pickles. Her mouth immediately salivated at the thought and she returned her attention to her husband. "Actually, I want some fried pickles."

Everyone at the table made a face except for her husband. He merely chuckled and nudged Max. "I'll come up there with you."

Jacob and Max left the booth to order the food at the bar. To save on money, the tavern didn't hire waiters or waitresses. Instead they had six bartenders who took orders while a person waited at the bar. Bella watched the duo head up to the bar and disappear as the dancing crowd seemed to swallow them whole.

After they had gone, Corin turned to Demetri with a flirty face. "So what do you like to do to unwind?"

Demetri smiled casually and thought about the question. "I don't do much. After school I usually watch some TV and if I'm lucky, Sabrina will grace my presence."

Corin's flirty smile fell immediately and she began to twiddle with her fingers on top of the table. "Oh." She laughed without humor. "Is Sabrina your girlfriend?"

Demetri barked a laugh and Bella had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling. Bella was enjoying watching the conversation between Demetri and Corin, as it was clear to her that Corin was infatuated with the man, but Demetri seemed to be in the dark on her feelings. After a pregnant pause, Demetri responded. "No, Sabrina is my cat. She's black with white paws." He quickly drew his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a picture of Sabrina sitting on a window sill.

"She's cute!" Bella told him honestly.

Corin merely stared at the picture then at Demetri then back at the picture. "I never pegged you to be a cat person."

"Oh yes." Demetri nodded his head seriously, then placed his phone back into his pocket. "Growing up, we always had at least three cats in the house. Some would say my mother was a fanatic when it came to cats." Demetri smiled sheepishly. "She could never get rid of them. She took in strays all the time. The only time we could convince her to get rid of them, was if we knew someone who wanted a cat."

"Huh." Corin smiled at Demetri and moved her hand up to cover his. "So you don't have a girlfriend."

Demetri looked down at the hand covering his own and side glanced at Bella who was watching everything with rapt attention. "Uh, no. I do not." Demetri subtly removed his hand from under Corin's hand to scratch the back of his head. "So Corin, what's your favorite movie?" Demetri asked, seemingly grasping at straws to steer the conversation away from himself.

Corin shifted closer to Demetri and twirled a strand of her curly blonde hair between her fingers. "I like romantic movies." Before Demetri could say anything else, an idea seemed to pop into Corin's head. "Maybe we should see a movie together sometime, what do you think?" Corin batted her eyes at Demetri who looked like he wished for nothing more than to fade into the booth and disappear.

Luckily for Demetri, he didn't get the chance to reply as Max and Jacob returned with food and a round of drinks. Max slid into the booth first and sat close to Corin. He placed the big platter of BBQ drenched wings in the center of the table, and placed the mound of fries next to them. After he was situated, Jacob slid in next to him and passed Bella her basket of fried pickles. Afterward he passed everyone a drink.. "These are blueberry daiquiris." When he received an appraising glance from Demetri, Jacob held up his hands in defense. "I hate the whole 'men only drink beer', 'girly drinks are gay', crap. It's not fair that women get to be the only people who drink sweet alcohol."

Demetri laughed at Jacob's outburst and smiled. "Jacob, I was only going to say that I love daiquiris." He took a sip of his blueberry drink and nodded in approval. "Men can enjoy sweet drinks too." He winked at Jacob who returned the smile, raising his drink high in cheers.

Bella looked at the water in front of her and sent her husband an inquisitive stare. "Why didn't you get me one?"

Jacob lifted up the car keys and tossed them to his wife who barely caught them. "You're the designated driver."

"Ah, right." Bella pursed her lips and pointed to Jacob's drink. "Well, let me at least taste it." Jacob eased his drink across the table and Bella picked it up, taking a small sip. She could taste the blueberry liqueur and smiled. One day she would have to get one for herself. "Taste good." She returned the drink to Jacob, then grabbed a fried pickle. It was extra crunchy and hot grease drizzled down her chin. "Not bad, but not as good as regular ol' pickle."

Jacob rolled his eyes at his wife, but the smile on his face showed his adoration for her. He then grabbed one of the wings and took a careful bite. "Whoa," He spoke with a fill mouth. "Hot!"

"You're telling me." Corin was having issues holding the steaming wings, let alone getting them into her mouth.

"The sauce is good though." Max commented, polishing off his third wing, and popping a couple fries into his mouth.

"How are you eating these so fast? They're so hot." Corin looked at Max with something between confusion and distaste.

Max merely shrugged and sipped his drink. "I don't feel temperature as badly as everyone else. Comes from years of burning my fingers and mouth on, well, food." He lifted up a hot wing as if to prove his point.

Corin blew at one of the wings and once it was cool enough, she took a bite. "So, uh, Demetri." Corin looked up at the man sitting next to her and smiled tentatively. "About that,"

"Hey Corin." Max suddenly interjected, causing the woman to turn sharply in his direction.

"What?" She snapped.

Max, unperturbed by her words, pointed at the corner of her mouth. "You've got some barbeque sauce right there.

Corin bristled at Max's words and quickly grabbed a napkin to rid her face of the sauce. Even in the dim light, the group could tell that Corin was blushing from embarrassment.

"Hey, after we're done eating, we should dance." Demetri suggested to his coworkers. "Sound cool?"

"Hell yeah." Max pumped his fist with vigor. "We can't leave her without hitting up the dance floor and showing those kids how it's done!"

They all looked at the crowd jamming to the music enthusiastically. "I love dancing." Corin murmured, capturing Demetri's attention with a seductive stare.

Bella popped the last fried pickle into her mouth and scooted out of the booth with Demetri quick at her heels. "Well, let's dance." She knew not everyone was finished with their food, as there was still a handful of fries left along with a couple wings. But she also could tell that Demetri was extremely uncomfortable with Corin and wanted to help him in the only way that she could.

Soon Jacob joined her, along with Max and eventually Corin. The group assimilated themselves into the dancing crowd and eventually were split up because of all the people dancing. Jacob managed to stay with Bella and wrapped one arm around her waist while they followed the of the fast paced song. The strobe lights were erratically shooting out multicolored lights, helping set the tone that they were in a dance club and not actually a tavern.

"Come here often." Jacob teased his wife, leaning close to her ear so she could hear him.

Bella could hear the tone of Jacob's voice and knew that the alcohol was roaring through his system. He truly was a lightweight, having had only one drink. But as she thought about it, daiquiris tended to be a high alcohol content drink. "You're drunk." Bella replied nudging him playfully and continuing in their dancing.

"Not true." Jacob took her hand during their dance and kissed it softly. "Maybe a little tipsy. But not drunk."

As the song changed, more people joined the already crowded dance floor. The result being that hot, sweaty bodies rubbed against Bella causing her to be pushed against her husband. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and she leaned into his embrace. They danced for a little longer when Bella felt her stomach acting strangely. Nausea swept through her and she felt her mouth go dry. Knowing what was going to happen soon, Bella pulled out of her husband's embrace and looked up at him apologetically. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Jacob nodded that he understood and Bella made her way out of the crowd, slower than she would have liked. After she had escaped the dancefloor, she made a beeline for the ladies room. On the way inside, she bumped a tall man and barely spared him a glance, instead apologizing and pushing the door open to restroom.

Victoria's Tavern was known for many things in Forks. Having clean bathrooms was not one of them. The ladies room held three stalls, and two sinks. The air dryer for drying hands never worked and paper towels were a thing of the past. The restroom had various discolored stains throughout the floor and walls that left much to be desired. Sweat, urine and the faint smell of strawberries attacked Bella's nose as she entered. Bella looked at the three stalls and found all of them empty. As she was deciding which stall to use, the door behind her opened and bumped into her. Bella shuddered as the grimy door touched her bare shoulders and moved away from the door as someone entered.

"You okay?" A deep voice asked behind her with a thick Italian accent.

Bella whipped around and found a tall, tanned man standing in the doorway leering at her. He was bald with a scalp as shiny as a cue ball. She couldn't quite place where she'd seen him before, but he seemed eerily familiar. "Isn't this the ladies room?" Bella was out of sorts at seeing the man in the restroom. Had she accidentally walked into the wrong room?

The Italian man smirked and nodded. "This is the ladies room. I followed you in here."

Bella didn't like the vibes he was sending her. "Why?"

The smirk fell from the man's face and a scowl replaced it. "You don't remember me?" He took a threatening step forward and Bella mirrored him by taking one backwards. "It's only been a few weeks."

Bella wracked her brain from this new information when a light went off in her head. Instantly, she felt her palms get sweaty and fear chilled her body. " _You._ " She whispered, taking another step back. "What do you want?" Bella remembered the first time she had come to the tavern with her coworkers. She'd taken a step outside to make a call and a man had chatted her up. Then tried to kidnap her. Now he was back, and she really wanted to believe that his intentions had changed.

"You." He replied, the smirk returning.

Bella was confused by his words and it showed on her face. "What?"

"You asked what I wanted." He licked his lips creepily and stared her up and down slowly. "I want you." The man began taking quick steps towards her.

"I'm married." Bella blurted once she was backed up to the wall. Her arm accidentally bumped into the soap dispenser and some pink, strawberry scented soap leaked onto her arm. The sweet smell, mixed with the disgusting bathroom, and her fear, had her nausea getting worse.

The man paused in his pursuit and looked down at her left hand, finding the gold band around her ring finger easily. "That's alright. Never stopped me before." He winked then placed his hands on either side of her face, pinning her to the wall. "Now stop playing hard to get, and give me some sugar."

"Wait!" Bella screamed, causing him to pause on his way to kiss her. "I'm not playing hard to get, I swear. Please, I'm not interested." She pushed against him but was met with much resistance.

"If that's the way you want to play it, I don't care." The bald man dipped his head and smashed his lips against hers in harsh kiss.

Bella fought him fiercely, turning her head to escape the kiss, but to no avail. He was overpowering her with his strength and soon his hands were sliding down her body, tugging at her dress. "Stop!" She gasped when pulled away enough to push her dress down, exposing her strapless bra. His kiss had tasted of beer and buffalo wings. When he kissed Bella again, she felt her stomach give. The fried pickles made their way up her throat and soon she was spewing it on the Italian man's lips, face and chest as he pulled away in disgust. The vomit didn't stop and soon her dress and the floor around them was covered in Bella's vomit.

"What the fuck?!" The man screamed, wiping his mouth in horror. He turned to the grimy sink and began to wash out his mouth, face and clothes.

Bella ignored all the throw up and rushed from the bathroom. She pushed through people on the dance floor, receiving numerous insults and even a few retaliatory shoves. She found her husband dancing near Max and hurried to him. "Jacob!" She tugged on his arm until she'd captured his and Max's attention.

"Bella, your dress!" Max pointed at the fact that her bra was exposed and he couldn't tear his eyea away from the lacy bra that supported her breasts.

Jacob angled his body in front of Bella's to hide her from prying eyes, and helped her adjust her dress. His hands touched her vomit, and widened in surprise. "Bella, what happened?"

Being couldn't help the tears that escaped her eyes. "He tried to rape me." She told him, shaking. "I just want to go home."

"What? Who?" Jacob led Bella from the dance floor and towards the booth they had previously occupied. "What happened?" Jacob asked, sobering up instantly.

"There's a man in the ladies room." Bella wiped her face free from tears, and smeared some of the puke left on her face. "He trapped me in the bathroom and tried to…" She couldn't utter the words again and instead reached for a napkin to wipe off her face.

"Wait here." Jacob told her then caressed the side of her face gently. "I'll be back."

Bella watched Jacob stomp towards the bathroom, and she knew there was going to be trouble. After she finished cleaning off her face, she placed the soiled napkin inside the empty fried pickles basket, then hurried to the ladies room where she knew Jacob and the Italian man were to be found. When she pushed the door open, she gasped at the sight.

"Don't ever touch my wife again!" Jacob growled, drawing back his fist and slamming it into the bald man's face. He had still been cleaning the puke off his clothes when Jacob attacked him. Fist after fist made repeated contact against the tanned cheeks of the Italian man, who was caught off guard and ended up falling to the floor. Jacob straddled the man and continued to wail on him. "How dare you!" He screamed between blows. "Touch here again," Jacob punched him in the nose, causing blood to stain his knuckles. "And I will end you!" Jacob felt a touch on his shoulder and turned around to find his frightened wife standing behind him, pale as a sheet. "Bella." He jumped to his feet and rushed to his wife's side. "Let's get out of here."

Jacob and Bella left the Italian man unconscious on the ground, then quickly found Bella's coworkers and informed them that they would be leaving. "What happened?" Max asked Bella, glancing down at her chest then back at her face.

"Nothing." She murmured. "Just a misunderstanding." Bella awkwardly crossed her arms and sighed inwardly when she touched her own vomit. She just wanted to go home, shower and go to bed. Tonight was a night she hoped to forget as it was too fresh in her brain for her to feel comfortable.

Demetri patted Bella's shoulder awkwardly and frowned. "Everytime we come here, something crazy happens to you. I'm starting to think this place is cursed."

Bella laughed and felt a tear spring from one of her eyes. "Yeah. I'll see you guys on Monday."

"Get rest Bella." Corin told her while sidling up to Demetri.

Jacob took Bella's dirty hand and led her from the tavern. Neither said a word when Bella drove them home as both were contemplating the actions that had transpired that night.

 **A/N: Geez, this chapter his SUPER long. Longest chapter so far it being 11 pages long *gasps***


	24. I'm Sorry

Chapter 24

 _I know sometimes it's hard_

 _To put our pride aside_

 _When all we should do is just say_

 _I'm sorry_

 _I'm sorry, baby  
_

 _~I'm Sorry- Silk_

After the horrendous night at the club, Bella and Jacob entered their apartment quietly. Bella made a beeline for the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She turned the shower on hot, then stripped from her clothes and stepped into the steamy shower. The hot water was a comfort on her skin. As she washed, she imagined she was washing away all the horrors of that night. As she scrubbed her arms, she thought of the nameless Italian man who had put his hands on her. While she scrubbed her face, she thought of the forced kiss. Every touch from that man was scrubbed from her body and went down the drain.

Bella stayed in the shower for a very long time. Eventually she stopped cleaning her body and just allowed the water to wash over her. She stayed in the shower for so long that soon the water ran cold, and she was forced to leave as the icy droplets stung her heated body. Bella grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her waist while she allowed her damp hair to cascaded down her shoulders and stick to her back. Her mouth still tasted of beer, buffalo sauce and vomit, so she brushed harshly trying to rid herself of the taste.

Once Bella was clean, she finally left the bathroom and entered her bedroom, only to find her husband sitting on their bed with a glass of water extended towards her. "You were in there for two hours." He told her after she had taken the glass and chugged half its contents. "How do you feel?"

Bella set the half empty glass on the nightstand and sat down beside her husband on the bed. "Tired." She told him while looking at her hands in her lap. "Scared."

Jacob wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to his body. She was still flushed from the hot shower, so for the first time, her body was hotter than his. "That man is never going to touch you again. I made sure of that." Jacob kissed her forehead sweetly and Bella sighed.

"I feel so helpless all the time. First Edward, and now this guy." She covered her face with her hands and allowed her body to sag. "Demetri is right. Every time I go to that tavern, something crazy happens to me."

Jacob lifted Bella's chin so that she could face him, and his face expressed bewilderment. "What happened before?"

"Which time?" Bella grumbled. "The time I got slapped by some man while saving Alice, or the first time _that_ Italian man tried to kidnap me?"

Jacob's eyes widened in shock. "When did this happen?" Jacob hopped off of the bed and stood in front of Bella. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"You were gone!" Bella removed her hands from her face and looked up at her husband with glossy eyes as she fought back tears. "You left! Never called or texted."

Jacob looked away from her guiltily. "I lost my phone. You know that."

"You could have bought a new one." Bella cried in exasperation. "But you didn't. You chose not to try to contact me. What does that say about you?" Bella stood from the bed and poked Jacob roughly in the stomach. "I needed you! Multiple times. But. You. Weren't. Here." Bella turned from her husband and faced the bed. Her arms were crossed while the tears she tried to contain streamed endlessly down her cheeks.

Jacob reached out and touched her shoulder gently, causing her to flinch, and he to retract his hand. "Bella I-

"Go away Jacob." Bella didn't want to talk to, or look at her husband. She listened to him leave and was actually surprised that he didn't put up a fight. Once Jacob had gone, she closed the door and wiped away her tears. After Bella had taken a moment to gather herself, she threw on an oversized T-shirt, turned off the lights and went to bed.

The next morning, Bella woke to find her bed devoid of her husband. Momentarily she forgot the fight they'd had last night and thought he was back in South Carolina, which caused her breath to come up short. But as she sat up and cleared her eyes of sleep, she remembered the events that happened at the tavern, then the mean words shared with her husband. Bella hadn't meant to snap at him, but her emotions had gotten the better of her and instead of seeking comfort in her husband, she pushed him away.

Bella slid from the bed and shuffled to into the hallway. She made up her mind to apologize to Jacob so that they could hopefully move past last night, and be okay. As she made her way down the hallway, she caught a whiff of something salty and her interest piqued. Bella found her husband in the dining room, placing a glass filled with an off-yellow liquid, next to a plate with pickle slices surrounding a big slice of coconut cake. "What are you doing?" Bella asked, startling her husband.

Jacob whipped around looking sheepish. "Bella! I didn't know you were awake." Jacob glanced down at the food then looked at his wife with a small smile. "I made you breakfast." He waved his hand over the food as Bella appraised the food. "Your current favorite." Jacob murmured. "Pickles and coconut cake."

"What's that?" Bella asked, pointing at the weird colored juice.

"Oh." Jacob lifted up the glass and held it up to Bella's lips. She took a sip and a flashed him a look of surprise. "Pickle juice." They said simultaneously.

Bella couldn't help grinning at her husband. "Thanks Jacob." Bella took a seat at the table and watched Jacob claim the seat opposite her with a big bowl of cereal for him. She popped a pickle into her mouth and chewed it quietly. For a bit, the couple sat in silence, merely eating their breakfast. After a while, Bella began to feel awkward and thought of a way to apologize to Jacob for her outburst.

"Hey Bella." Jacob said, capturing his wife's attention. "I'm sorry about yesterday." Jacob looked down into his half eaten bowl of cereal dejectedly.

"What?" Bella dropped the pickle that had been on its way to her mouth.

"You're right. I haven't been there for you as much as I should. I left, lost my phone and then didn't even figure out some way to contact you." Jacob dropped his spoon into his bowl, and reached across the table to take her hand in his own. "But if you can forgive me for my idiocy, I promise I will make it up to you."

Bella felt a stirring within her and her breath caught. "Of course I forgive you." She looked at her husband, with a strange look before turning away, red-faced.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked, noticing the change in her mood.

"Nothing." Bella stood from the table and instantly Jacob was at her side.

"Bella please." Jacob showed his vulnerability and looked unsure of what to do. "What is it?"

Bella looked up at her husband with a flushed face and crooked her finger, telling him nonverbally to 'come here'. Jacob slowly leaned down towards her and she placed her hands on either side of his face, stood on her tip toes, then kissed him tenderly on the lips.

Jacob accepted the kiss happily and wrapped his arms around her waist to steady himself. As he tried to pull back, Bella wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent him from leaving and deepened the kiss. Jacob chuckled against her lips and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. When they broke apart for air, Jacob gave her a peck on the nose. "Well you're in a mood." Bella responded by trailing kisses down his cheek but pausing to nip at his neck. Jacob moaned in pleasure from her actions and gripped Bella tighter. He then carried Bella into their bedroom and closed the door.

The next time the door was opened, Bella was slipping on shorts and making her way to the living room door. Charlie had texted her, telling her that he had returned with Renesmee and Midnight. By the time she had opened the door, Charlie was getting into a heated argument with Caius across the hall.

"-I can arrest you. You know that right?" Charlie flashed his badge and watched Caius retreat inside his home. "Loser." Charlie muttered, then noticed that Bella had opened the door. "Oh good!" He passed her the leash and ushered Renesmee inside before following after. "Did I ever tell you I hate your neighbors?"

Bella hugged her daughter then squatted to free Midnight from his leash. "He's the only annoying one. The others are really nice." After she had unclipped Midnight from his leash, she hung it up on the door and gave her father a quick hug. "How are you Charlie? Did Renesmee behave?" She chanced a glance at her daughter who looked up at her innocently.

"Renesmee was a perfect angel." Charlie told her, then flopped down on her couch. "Nessie really enjoyed the movie."

"Paw-paw took me to see Minions!" Renesmee squealed in excitement. "It was so good mommy!" Renesmee pointed at Charlie and began giggling. "But Paw-paw fell asleep!"

Charlie made a face and turned on the television. "I wasn't asleep. I was looking at the movie with my eyes closed."

"Nuh-uh!" Renesmee fell into fits of laughter when Charlie reached out and tickled her. She escaped to her room when Charlie released her and Bella placed her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing?"

"Is it wrong for a father to visit his daughter?" Charlie asked in mock offense. "I'm hurt, Bella."

Bella rolled her eyes but couldn't help the grin that settled upon her face. "You ran out of food, didn't you."

"Alright, you caught me." Charlie settled on the sports channel and relaxed into the couch. "Harry and his wife visited a few times last week and all the food you cooked for me got eaten up."

"That's fine Charlie." Bella headed into the kitchen, thinking about what she could whip up quickly for him. As she was rummaging through the fridge, she found a half filled jar of pasta sauce and bent down to grab it. As her fingers wrapped around the jar, she felt a bump behind her and stood with the jar in her hand. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a sturdy chest. "Jacob, what are you doing?"

Jacob leaned down and nuzzled his head into her neck. "Come back to bed." He whispered sensually, then nibbled her ear.

"Jake." Bella put the jar of pasta down on the counter to steady herself. "Wait, Charlie is in the living room." She pulled away from him, even though she wanted to give in to the feelings whirling within in her.

Jacob glanced behind him and through the half wall in the dining room, he spotted Charlie who was enraptured with the TV. Jacob turned back to his wife with a devious smile. "He's occupied." Jacob caressed her cheek and let his hand trail down her neck until it wavered at her bosom.

Bella watched his ministrations with lust filled eyes and sighed into his touch. "We've been having sex for two hours." She told him, grasping at straws.

"We're young." Jacob shrugged off her concerns. "I promise I got at least one or two more rounds left in me." He winked, then pinched the most sensitive part of her breast.

Bella had to bite her lip to stifle a moan, and flicked Jacob's hand away ruefully. "Okay, I'm going to cook him something quick and then we'll continue where we left off." She turned her back to Jacob and reached high to grab a pot. As she reached, Jacob smacked her butt, eliciting a squeal from her before disappearing out of the kitchen. After Bella had calmed herself, she boiled some spaghetti noodles and tossed it in the sauce. She didn't have any meat to throw in it, nor did she want to spend more time cooking when other activities beckoned her. Instead, she poured the hot spaghetti into a large tupperware bowl and clasped a lid on tightly. When Bella entered the living room, Charlie was screaming at the TV.

"GO! GO! GO! NO!" Charlie threw up his hands in exasperation. He noticed his daughter and turned his attention to her. "Is that your spaghetti or Jake's?" When Bella pointed to herself, Charlie visibly sighed with relief. "Oh thank goodness. That boy always puts too much garlic in it."

"Right?" Bella passed her father the container and turned off the TV. "Thanks again for watching Renesmee and Midnight."

Charlie took the container and sent Bella a funny look. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were trying to get rid of me."

"'Course not." Bella laughed nervously and looked away from Charlie's face.

"Well I guess I'll head out then. See ya later Bells." Charlie half waved at Bella before exiting the apartment with the hot spaghetti in tow.

Bella grinned at the closed door then turned to head to her bedroom where she knew her husband was waiting for her in more ways than one. She didn't get a chance to go as a knock on the door stopped her. Thinking Charlie forgot something, Bella plastered a smile on her face and opened the door.

"You do know you're not allowed to have dogs right?" Caius asked her with a dark grin. "I got you now."

 **A/N: I wrote this chapter over a year ago which is why the movie Renesmee and Charlie saw was Minions. I should have made them see Moana but it's fine. More drama awaits, thanks for reading everyone!**


	25. Fallin'

Chapter 25  
 _Sometimes I love ya_

 _Sometimes you make me blue_

 _Sometimes I feel good_

 _At times I feel used_

 _Lovin you darlin'  
~Fallin'- Alicia Keys_

Bella scowled at Caius. "Why can't you leave us alone?" She snapped, finally fed up with Caius and his rude demeanor. She knew that the only reason he treated her the way he did was because she allowed it. She never stood up for herself. Instead, she usually tried to avoid him or responded timidly. Bella poked Caius roughly in the stomach. "I am sick and tired of hearing your complaints!" She screamed at him, causing the the startled man to take a step back. "It's like you have nothing better to do than harass me and my family!" She jabbed him roughly causing Caius to continue stumbling backwards until he was backed up against his apartment door. "Leave us alone or so help me I will make your life a living hell!" She was huffing and puffing at the end of her rant when strong hands grabbed her by the arms.

Caius looked from Bella to the person behind her and his face contorted from shock to annoyance. "You should contain your wife. Clearly she has lost her mind." Caius didn't await a response, instead escaped to his apartment and slammed the door shut.

Jacob lead his wife into their home and closed the door gently. "Not that he didn't deserve it, or that that wasn't the hottest thing ever to see you defend yourself like that, but it's unlike you." Jacob sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him which Bella took immediately. "What's going on?"

Bella didn't understand why her mood was so up and down lately. Jacob was right. It _wasn't_ like her to get angry to the point that she was tearing off people's heads. She was quick to sadness too and even her recent arousal seemed out of place. "I...I don't know." Bella replied honestly.

Jacob scratched the back of his head nervously. "Is it uh, lady stuff. Like period stuff?"

Bella laughed at how uncomfortable Jacob had become while veering the conversation towards 'lady stuff'. "No Jake. It's not lady stuff. I'm not bleeding…" Bella's voice trailed to a stop as she thought about the last time she had a menstrual cycle. She wasn't an irregular person. Mother nature made sure that every month like clockwork, her cycle would start and end at the same time every month. And yet, she couldn't remember the last time she had her period. Jacob roused her from her thoughts with gentle kisses on her cheek. She smiled at her husband and turned her face to connect their lips. "Still want more?" She teased.

Jacob took her hand and placed it on the hard lump in his lap. "You tell me."

The following day, during Bella's first period class, an announcement rang throughout the PA alerting the school that classes were canceled for students on Friday, as there would be an unscheduled Teacher's Day. Bella knew that Teacher's Day, was code for a day of meetings, most likely discussing the drug scandal and who would be the new principal. She sighed inwardly as she wasn't looking forward to that day. Meetings tended to run long, and sometimes they could be tedious and uneventful. Unfortunately, it was mandatory.

When lunchtime rolled around, Bella barely had time to grab her cake from the drawer when Demetri and Alice barged into her classroom. "Big news!" Alice squealed, clearing a spot on Bella's desk before parking her rear on the solid oak. "Lot's to tell you!"

Demetri grabbed one of Bella's student's desks and brought it closer to the teachers desk. "She didn't even let me enter the teacher's lounge." Demetri told her. "It must be big." He turned his attention to Alice and comically leaned his head in both his hands like an enrapt child while watching TV. "So tell us what's going on."

A light blush dusted Alice's nose and cheeks before staining her whole face. "It was a magical evening. He picked me up in a limo!" Alice giggled like a schoolgirl and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Usually it was in spikes, but today she had allowed it to hang straight and frame her face in a bob. "I felt so fancy, I swear. So he picks me up in the limo and it's like time stopped. I don't know how long we were in it but we talked. I never realized how much I love talking." A faraway look came over Alice's eyes as she retold the story. "He listened to everything I said, even making comments and jokes."

"What did you talk about?" Demetri asked when Alice seemed deep in thought and had stopped retelling her story.

"Oh." Alice gestured swept her arm across the classroom. "Everything. School, my students and you guys of course." Alice smiled at her friends and began messing with the bracelet around her wrist absentmindedly. "He would like to meet y'all one day, but for now, I'm all he's getting." Alice winked at her friends and grinned. "We went to this really posh club that I swear you need like, a hundred dollars just to get in. It was amazing though! We danced, then went to the private part of the club that serves food. He reserved us a table in a secluded spot and there was candles, dim lighting and the softest tablecloths I've ever felt. Anyway, we ordered steak and lobster and it was the best food I have ever tasted!" Alice paused and looked down at Bella's cake. "You're still eating that?"

"Hey hey hey, get back to the story." Demetri told her.

"Oh right. Okay so after dinner he said he had a surprise for me. The night was so perfect I knew it was going to be something spectacular. So we go back in the limo and when we arrive, we're in this really big park. At first I was confused, like, why a park? So he takes me to this park. Not the kind with kids, but just a really big field with grass and stuff. Then we walk a little and come across a white gazebo covered with flowers and inside is a little bench. I was happy when we reached the gazebo because my heels were sinking into the ground. So once we were inside the gazebo, we sit on the bench and look at the stars. It was beyond romantic. While we're relaxing, he pulls out a small box and hands it to me. I open it of course and inside is this." Alice pointed to the necklace hanging around her neck. It was a thin chain with a small, silver key hanging from it. "I swear there must be real diamonds on this key! Anyway, he tells me that he's the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and right now I have the key to his heart." Alice rubbed her thumb over the necklace and looked between her friends. "He kissed me."

"So?" Demetri raised a brow skeptically. "Haven't you kissed him before?"

Alice shook her head. "No. This was our first one. It was so sweet. I know I haven't known him long and I know we've only been on a couple dates but guys, I think I'm in love." Alice's blush deepened at her words and she looked at her friends timidly. "Is that crazy?"

"Of course not, Alice." Demetri responded first, then the pair looked to Bella for confirmation.

Bella cleared her throat and looked at her friend seriously. "I think it's really soon to tell. But, I also think that you're falling love." Bella returned Alice's smile tenfold. "Maybe he's your soulmate."

"You believe in soulmates?" Demetri asked.

"I do. I found mine and now, it would seem Alice has found hers as well."

Alice squealed and leaned over to give Bella a hug. "Now it's your turn Demetri!" Demetri in response merely waved away the notion and grumbled to himself. "It was a magical evening. The only thing that confused me was the necklace." Alice touched the necklace gingerly before allowing it to rest on her skin. "He said it was the first gift of many to come."

"First gift? What about the bracelet?" Demetri asked, gesturing to the bracelet Alice had been wearing for days. "Didn't he give you that and leave a sweet note?"

"Or the shoes. Remember, he paid for your shoes?" Bella commented.

"Yeah! I'm thinking maybe he forgot." Alice shrugged it off. "Alright, so I've told you about my date. Now it's your turn. What happened Saturday?"

Demetri didn't give Bella a chance to decide whether or not she wanted to tell the story. Instead he began a full recall of the events that transpired that night. Bella listened with vivid remembrance as Demetri took Alice through the night. When it came to the part where Bella left early with Jacob, Demetri skimmed over that part and continued. "So after Bella left looking all weird, I continued dancing with Corin and Max. Corin was all over me." Demetri shuddered as he was taken back to that night. "Reminded me of when I was in high school as a kid, and pretended to be straight by dating this girl who liked me. Bad times. So Corin kept putting her body on me and Max kept trying to dance with her. It was one big collaso mess. I wanted to dance with Max who clearly wanted to dance with Corin. I didn't even know Corin liked me like that. Now I don't know what to do."

Alice and Bella exchanged looks, then Alice leaned over to pat his shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay. We probably should have told you that Corin liked you. But we thought you knew."

Demetri looked between the two women. "I had no clue." He told them honestly. "Was it that obvious?"

"Kinda." Alice continued patting him on the shoulder until he continued with the night's events.

"Weird. Well sometime through the night, I guess Corin got tired and called a cab. She tried to kiss me, but luckily she was too drunk and missed. Well after she was gone, I actually did get to dance with Max a little. Then we went home. We carpooled together of course. We were talking in the car, and Max was telling me about his trouble with the ladies and asked if me if there was anyone special in my life. I told him I was a single pringle and I'm pretty sure I saw a smile. So I joked and said maybe he should give men a shot. He actually surprised me with his answer." Demetri paused and looked at his co workers who were staring at him in anticipation. "He said that he wasn't repulsed by the idea of being with men and it actually intrigued him. So I did something bold."

"Don't stop now!" Alice chided. "What did you do?"

Demetri let his eyes droop down to his hands that were clasped together on the desk. "I told him I was gay."

Bella and Alice gasped in mock shock. "What did he say?" Alice asked curiously.

"He just said 'oh that's cool', and then asked me how long I'd been gay. I told him my whole life, and he asked stuff like, who I found attractive, how many relationships I've had and if I've ever had sex before. I was surprised, he seemed fine with it and very curious about how gay relationships work. Well after the car ride, I took him home and then passed out in bed and here we are." Demetri finished with a weak gesture with his hands. "That's what happened, well from my point of view."

"Wow! Look at you," Alice shoved him playfully. "Max just might play for your team." She winked at Demetri who merely tried his best not to grin stupidly at the thought. "Oh Bella. Why did you leave early?"

Bella sighed softly. She knew the topic of what happened with her was bound to come up. She made a decision whether or not to tell them the truth or make up some lame excuse and decided to tell the truth. Alice and Demetri were not just her coworkers but also her friends. Aside from Jacob, they were the people she was closest too. "Remember that guy who tried to kidnap me the first time we went to Victoria's Tavern? Julia was there that time."

"Oh no." Alice covered her mouth in horror. "Was _he_ there?"

Bella nodded nervously. "He was. I was going to the bathroom and he came in behind me. I think he was going to…" She didn't have the nerve to finish the sentence and instead moved on to how she escaped. She explained that her vomit saved the day and she was able to escape.

"No wonder you left early." Demetri looked at her ruefully. "I'm sorry that happened to you Bella."

"Me too." Alice chimed in. "If I was there with you, I would have kicked his butt!"

Bella gave Alice a half-smile. "Thanks Alice. I'm feeling much better now." She took a bite of her coconut cake as if to reinforce the idea and savored the taste. She would have to go shopping for pickles again soon as she'd run out, but coconut cake would do. "So how do you guys feel about the meeting on Friday?"

Alice scowled and folded her arms. "Friday is going to be a _long_ day."


	26. Don't Stop

Chapter 26

 _Don't stop thinking about tomorrow_

 _Don't stop, it'll soon be here_

 _It'll be, better than before,_

 _Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone  
~Don't Stop- Fleetwood Mac_

Tuesday afternoon, Bella stood apprehensively beside her husband whose brow was furrowed while he spoke on the phone. "I understand Mr. Varner." Jacob looked at his wife with a grim smile. "We'll be packed by the end of the month."

Bella gasped and covered her mouth, looking at her husband with glossy eyes as she listened in on the conversation.

"Is there any way we can change your mind...okay." Jacob sighed then hung up the phone. He averted his eyes from his wife and instead collapsed onto their couch. His shoulders sagged as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's evicting us."

Bella didn't need to ask why. "Caius." She growled. Bella didn't wait for Jacob to try to defend the callous man and instead exited their apartment. She crossed the hall in three quick strides and began slamming her fist down on Caius door. "Open up Caius! I have a bone to pick with you!" Bella continued knocking loudly but was cut off when Jacob called to her from her apartment.

"He's not home. He's at work."

Bella paused in her knocking and kicked the door angrily. "Why is he doing this to us?"

Jacob held open his arms and beckoned his wife towards him. "Obviously his life is devoid of happiness if he's trying to ruin someone else's." When Bella embraced him, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and drew her back into the apartment. "To be honest, when you yelled at him the other day, I thought he was going to leave us alone. He's a bully but I would've put my money on it that he was all bark no bite ya know?"

Bella couldn't help snorting at Jacob's words. "He's a loser. I hate him."

"Hey." Jacob crooned softly. "Don't waste your energy hating him. We just have to take this in stride."

Bella pushed away from her husband and clenched her fist, turning her back to him. "We have to take everything in stride. Why is this happening to us? My car vanishes, your phone and paycheck gets stolen, I've been _attacked_! Now we're getting kicked out. What is going on?" Bella shook off Jacob's comforting hand he tried to place on her shoulder. "This isn't fair!" She shrieked.

"Honey, you need to calm down." Jacob murmured behind her. "We don't want to frighten Renesmee." He added quickly upon seeing the livid expression on his wife's face. "I promise it will be okay."

Upon hearing her daughter's name, Bella seemed to deflate. "It's Edward. It has to be." She voiced her theory aloud and looked to Jacob for confirmation.

"I don't know Bella. How could he have gotten us kicked out of our apartment. That was all Caius." Jacob paused and thought about Bella's accusation. "And what's the likelihood of him knowing the douchebag who tried to attack you?"

Bella made a face at her husband. "I can't believe you're defending him."

Jacob held up his hands defensively. "I'm not trying to. Trust me, I didn't forget that he tried to kill me and is now free roaming the streets." Jacob let his hands drop down to his side limply. "Sometimes I can't help looking over my shoulder...but let's be realistic Bella. I don't want to blame him for the troubles we have if he's not the cause."

"I wish he was still in jail."

Jacob nodded sadly. "Me too. You haven't seen him recently have you?"

"No. Why?"

"You had me worried for a second." Jacob gave his wife a half smile. "Do you want a pickle or something?"

Bella knew that he was joking, but the sound of eating a pickle caused her mouth to water and she immediately made a beeline for the kitchen. She ignored the groan of disgust from her husband and opened the fridge to pull out the giant jar of dill pickles. The salty, fat, vegetable soon found it's way into her mouth and Bella chewed noisily. Some pickle juice dribbled down her chin before staining her shirt. Bella groaned internally as instead of eating the pickle, it seemed to be eating her instead. Consuming the pickle actually helped ease the tension in her body, and by the time she had finished her third pickle, her anger had dissipated. She put the jar back into the fridge and returned to the living room where Jacob was surfing the internet. "What are you doing now?" She asked before sitting down next to him.

Jacob angled his computer so that she could see the apartments and houses for rent and sale. "We need a place to live."

Bella pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her husband. "You wanted to move. Did you orchestrate this whole debacle with Caius? Did you tell him to rat on us about Midnight to the landlord?"

Jacob gaped at her husband. "Why would I do that?"

"You wanted to move. I didn't. But if we're forced to move you would get what you want."

Jacob startled Bella by laughing outright. "If I did something like that, I would be the worst husband ever." He paused and thought about Bella's words. "That's a good plan though." When Bella shoved him playfully, he grinned. "But seriously Bella, you can't honestly believe I would do something like that. I wouldn't ever do something to make you unhappy. I love you too much." He kissed her cheek quickly then scrolled the list of vacancies. "Now don't get all paranoid on me. We have to keep our heads and focus on the here and now."

They scrolled through numerous apartments and houses looking for their next home. "I don't like that one." Bella turned her nose up at an apartment on the other side of town with the rent being nearly double what they were paying currently. "It's not worth the price."

"True. But what about this one." Jacob pointed to a small, cottage-like house that happened to be a couple streets away from Charlie.

While Bella didn't mind the location, it was also pricey and not as spacious as she would want it to be for the price. So she shook her head and continued scanning the list.

After an hour of searching, Jacob closed his laptop in exasperation. "Bella, don't you think you're being picky?"

"No."

"Honey," Jacob took his wife's hand in his own and ran his thumb over her knuckles comfortingly. "We're going to end up on the streets if we don't find a place to stay. We need to keep an open mind."

Bella leaned against her husband and looked around the living room. "We've been here for so long."

"I know."

"We have so many memories here."

"I know."

"I don't want to leave."

"I know." Jacob kissed his wife on the forehead. "Me either."

"We're in a pickle."

Jacob laughed softly. "At least you like pickles."

Bella looked at her husband with an amused expression. "Not this kind." She looked at the laptop then back at her husband. "Alright, I'll be less picky. But let's wait until this weekend before we look for our next home. I just want to pretend that we're not moving for a couple days. Sound good?"

"That's fine Bella. But we should definitely buckle down and check out some places this weekend."

"We will." Bella rose from the couch and shrugged out of her shirt.

Jacob wolf whistled and winked at his wife. "Should we take this to the bedroom?" He waggled his brow and elicited a giggle from his wife.

"Jacob, you need to calm yourself." She rested her shirt over her shoulder and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going to do laundry, so come help me gather up our clothes."

"Aw." Jacob pouted cutely at his wife but stood from the couch. "My idea would've been more fun."

It didn't take long for Bella and Jacob to gather up theirs and Renesmee's clothes for washing. Since they lived in an apartment, there was no washer and dryer in their house or unfortunately on the premises for them to use. So whenever it was laundry day, they had to take a trip to the local laundromat. "Will you take the dirty clothes to the car?" Bella asked Jacob while she slipped on a random T-shirt. After her husband had gone, she stopped by the kitchen to grab a pickle for the road. As she consumed the pickle, her husband returned with an addition to the group. "Hey Alice."

"Bella, you have to see this!" Without another word, Alice grabbed Bella's arm and tugged her towards the door.

Jacob tossed his wife the car keys and she caught it with her free hand. "I'll be back later." She told Jacob who was laughing at Alice's insistence. Once they had made it out the door, Alice took her to her apartment and pushed Bella inside. "Alright so where's the fire?"

Alice released Bella's arm and pointed to a giant box resting on her cluttered couch. "I got another present."

"You don't sound too happy about that." Bella noted aloud.

Alice sent her a disdainful look. "I was excited at first." She walked over to the giant box and opened it to reveal a giant plush bunny. "I thought it was very sweet of him to send me this."

Bella took the oversized rabbit from the box and ran her hand over the soft fur. "It's cute. If you don't want it, I can give it to Renesmee." She joked.

"You can keep it!" Alice suddenly shrieked. "It's not from Jazz."

Bella raised a brow in contemplation. "What?"

Alice kicked the box off of her couch and took the space. "I found this outside my door when I went to get my mail. I thought Jazz had given me another present. There was even another note." Alice pointed to the small letter that was ripped in half on her coffee table. 'It read: My lovely Alice, until we meet again.' I thought it was sweet so I texted him." Alice drew her knees close to her body and wrapped her arms around her legs. "He tells me he hadn't sent me a package. Ever. I asked him about the bracelet and the shoes, but he didn't know what I was talking about."

"Wait, if Jazz didn't send you those things, then who did."

A sudden knock on the door had both both women exchanging nervous glances. After a pause, Alice made her way to the door and opened it it slowly. "Oh my gosh...What the hell are you doing here?"

"Alice, I need you in my life." A masculine voice spoke.

Bella crept up behind Alice and shuddered when she recognized the man in her doorway. He hadn't changed since the last time she had seen him. He stood tall and lean with disheveled graying hair. His pale, almost translucent skin looked almost orange under the apartment light. Closer to Charlie's age, than theirs, Aro smirked at Alice from the doorway. "I happened to be in the neighborhood."

"How do you even know where I live?"

Aro rolled his eyes at the question and instead of answering it, asked one of his own. "Did you like my gifts Alice?"

"Gifts?" Bemusement colored her tone. "What gifts?" She asked suspiciously.

Aro held up his hands as he counted them off. "The bracelet, shoe shopping spree, free breakfast and rabbit plush."

Alice's eyes widened in horror. "Those were from you?"

"Of course. Who else would they be from?" Aro laughed haughtily as though she had asked a dumb question.

"I thought the breakfast was just someone paying it forward. I can't believe you sent me those things!"

Aro reached out and took her hand. "I see you're wearing the bracelet." He murmured. "It looks good on you."

Alice retracted her hand as though he had burned her. She quickly ripped the bracelet from her hand and threw it at his feet. "I don't want it. Any of it! You can have them all back." Alice whirled around and grabbed the giant white bunny that Bella was still holding and tossed it to the man. Her shoes were laying haphazardly by the door and she kicked them towards him. "Take them and go!"

Aro's creepy smile faltered and he looked down at the gifts he had given her with an unreadable expression. "Not going to return the breakfast?" He joked with a strange smile.

"I would if I could." Alice told him seriously. "Do you want me to puke on you?"

Aro ignored her words and reached out to caress Alice's face. She leaned back so that his hand merely touched air and he flinched as though she had struck him. "Why are you being this way, love?"

Alice bristled at the pet name and narrowed her eyes at the dark haired man. "We had _one_ date. I'm not interested in you."

"Why?"

"Why?" Alice's eyes widened in surprise. "You lied to me! You're old enough to be my father for starters."

Aro seemed unperturbed by Alice's words. "Age is but a number, my sweet Alice." Her name slid off his tongue in such a manner it caused both women to shudder in disgust.

"You have kids. I don't want to enter a relationship with a man who has kids."

Aro took a slight step forward and Alice tensed. "They're in high school. They'll be graduating soon and we will have the house all to ourselves." Aro licked his lips and eyed Alice's body. "We could have so much fun, Alice."

"She already has someone!" Bella interjected, capturing the attention of both Alice and Aro. "She's no longer interested in you because she's dating someone else." Bella stood beside Alice and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I think it would be best if you leave and never return."

Aro looked taken aback by Bella's words and sent a hurt look Alice's way. "You're dating _her_?" He asked quietly.

Alice looked up at Bella and smiled. "Uh, yeah. She's the light of my life."

Aro's face contorted into a sneer and he looked down on Alice with malice. "So you play with my heart and you think it's okay to ditch me for this tramp?"

"Excuse you! But don't you dare insult her." Alice took a brave step forward and poked Aro in his chest angrily. "You _drugged_ me remember? It doesn't matter _who_ I like. _I will never like a man who drugs me!_ "

"It's not like the drugs would've killed you." Aro snapped in defense then leaned down and picked up each of his gifts to her.

"You're crazy!" Alice yelled. "Go away or I will call the cops!"

Aro took a step back and looked at her bitterly. "You'll regret this, I promise."

His words sent a chill through the women but they held their ground. "Leave." Alice spoke harshly.

With one last sneer towards them, Aro fled from the apartment leaving behind two women who were shaking with fear from the encounter.

"I stand corrected." Bella spoke after Aro had gone and her shakes had subsided. "Maybe you should do background checks on the guys you date."

 **A/N: I meant to upload earlier, sorry about that. So, there's only one more chapter (already written) that will be uploaded next week before a brief break. I wrote the last five chapters a year ago but forgot to upload them so that's why I was able to update so regularly. I am still working on this story (I will try my best not to take a whole year to update). But school and work is hectic and I'm working on getting my teaching license yada yada. But anywho, I will continue to work on this story in my free time. After next week there won't be anymore updates for a bit. But if I disappear for longer than three months, please don't hesitate to send me a pm like "HEY WHERE YOU AT?! WE WANT TO READ! QUIT BEING LAZY!" I respond well to motivation lol. As always, thanks for the fav's/reviews, they bring me joy. I hope ya'll continue to enjoy my story!**


	27. Constant Conversations

Chapter 27  
 _You never know where some people will go._

 _Yeah some people been hurtin' me._

 _You can tell by look, by the slightest crook._

 _In the neck or the blink of an eye._

 _~Constant Conversations- Passion Pit_

By the time Thursday rolled around, most of the teachers at Forks high were anxious about the mandatory teachers meeting being held on Friday. They all knew it had to do with the new principal with whom none of them had yet to meet. By the time their lunch hour had rolled around, more teachers were found in the lounge than usual.

"I heard it's an ex-military man." Spoke Mrs. Weber from the science department. "I also heard he was insanely strict."

"I heard he's an ex con. No lie." Demetri looked at his colleagues nervously. "But that can't be true right?"

Bella looked up from her coconut cake and made a face at Demetri. "That's impossible. If you've gone to jail, you can't work anywhere in a school."

Many of the teachers nodded in agreement and a sigh of relief escaped Demetri's lips. "Well that's good because I'm pretty sure an ex con would make a horrible principal."

"Not necessarily." Alice chimed in. "One in three people who are sent to jail are actually innocent of their crimes." She paused and looked at the only teacher with an accent in the room. "At least here in America. What was it like teaching in Chile?" She directed her question at Huilen, a Spanish teacher who grew up in Chile and moved to the states when he was in his twenties.

Huilen smiled at the question and his bright green eyes twinkled. "It was nice. I enjoyed teaching there very much."

"What made you move here?" Alice asked curiously. It was a rare sight to see Huilen in the teacher's lounge as he was similar to Bella. He tended to eat lunch in his classroom and mainly conversed with the only other Spanish teacher at the school.

"My wife's sister moved here with her husband many years ago. After her husband passed, she became very lonely. So my wife and I moved in with her. I do enjoy it here." He admitted with a slight smile. "And we visit Chile every summer so it's like the best of both worlds."

Alice nodded in understanding. "That's really lovely." She took a deep gulp from her beverage and returned to the conversation at hand. "Alright so we've eliminated ex con. But possible military principle seems sketchy. Anyone else heard anything?"

Ms. Mallory, one of the older teachers who'd been teaching at Forks for over 25 years, pursed her lips and stroked her chin in contemplation. "Well, I was chatting with some of the other teachers in the history department, and someone overheard that the man they're bringing in is very important."

"Important?" Demetri queried. "How so?"

Ms Mallory leaned in close, causing everyone at the table to mimic her subconsciously. "I'm talking ex president."

Her words caused mixed responses from all of the teachers in the lounge. Some were excited at the prospect of working with a former president while others were doubtful that someone who could've been as esteemed as a president would stoop so low to be a mere principal.

"That can't be true." Demetri grumbled. "If I were a former president, why would I want to be a principal?"

"Well maybe he likes kids?" Huilen shrugged at the thought. "It does seem silly though. Besides, which president would it even be?"

"Oh my gosh! What if it's Bill Clinton?" Alice voiced ecstatically. "I always liked him."

Demetri grinned and nodded in agreement. "He was cool. Well, aside from that scandal."

"Guys, I doubt it'd be Clinton." Ms. Weber looked at each of her colleagues before speaking again. "What if it's Bush?"

They all gasped comically and looked at her with mock horror. "Don't even make such jokes. He nearly ruined the country. Think of what he would do to the school." Bella grunted, then polished off the last of her cake. "I doubt the school board would allow him to be principal."

"Well I don't know about all of you, but I am looking forward to meeting this new principal." Demetri chimed in.

"Tomorrow's meeting is going to be very interesting." Alice spoke just as the bell rang, ending their lunch hour and interesting debate on who the new principal would be. "Time to teach these hellions"

As the teachers filed out of the lounge and entered the already crowded halls, Alice sidled up beside Bella as she walked to her room, even though her art room was on the other side of the building. "What's up?" Bella asked, wondering why she was being escorted to her classroom.

"You won't believe how many times Aro called me last night." Alice told her as they made their way down the hall. "I called the police but since he's not actually doing anything wrong, they won't help."

Bella frowned at the news. Aro seemed like a disturbed individual and she really hoped that he would leave her friend alone as she didn't deserve such harassment. "What about your sister's husband, the cop?"

Alice made a face of annoyance. "They won a free cruise. I didn't know people actually won those. I thought they were all scams. Regardless, she's gone for the week."

"Well maybe you should change your number." Bella suggested as they made it to her classroom that was already filling up with students.

"That sounds like a good idea." Alice admitted with a small smile. "I think I might do that." She gave her friend a slight hug then scampered off to her own classroom.

Bella taught her classes like normal, but her thoughts were infiltrated by the identity of the new principal and Aro. While Aro wasn't personally her problem, she didn't want any harm to come to her friend. By the time her last class rolled around, she had forgotten about a certain student had made it her mission to 'figure her out'. Bella had just finished passing out an assignment and returned to her desk when she found a hand raised in the air. The hand was connected to Jane. "Yes Jane?"

Instead of shouting across the room, Jane left her seat and sauntered up to the desk. She was holding a manilla envelope and a knowing smile graced her lips. Once the teen reached the desk, she opened the manilla envelope and removed a few pictures and articles printed from a computer. "I finally found out where I recognize you from." Jane spoke softly and laid each of the pictures across the desk while holding on to the articles.

Upon noticing the pictures, Bella blanched and felt her palms grow sweaty. She picked up the picture in the middle and found herself frozen in fear. She was wearing a muddy wedding dress and Jacob was lying on the ground battered and bruised with Edward looming over him. The picture was taken over six years ago, but Bella remembered it as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

 _Bella did not wish to marry Edward. But he had threatened the life of a boy she cared deeply for. If she did not marry him, she knew that Edward would kill him. He was so rich and powerful that he could easily make it look like an_ accident _and she couldn't risk that._

 _As she stood at the end of the aisle, on her wedding day, she sent silent prayers that something,_ anything _would happen to save her from wedding the monster beside her. Her prayers were answered when Jacob, soaking wet, burst through the doors screaming. "Bella! No!"_

 _Bella was so stunned that she dropped her bouquet. As Jacob dripped his way down the aisle, he spoke sweet words that took Bella's breath away. She knew Edward was seething beside her, but she couldn't take her eyes away from the boy who had stolen her heart. When he asked her did he love her, all hell broke loose. It happened so fast that if she had blinked, she would've missed it. One moment she was embracing Jacob, the next, Edward was wrenching him from her, much to the shock of their audience. He then proceeded to slam his foot into Jacob's body. Bella watched in horror as Edward attacked the man she loved._

 _When Edward realized he had lost his cool, he paused in his attack. Jacob took that chance to escape and fled down the aisle. Edward chased after him immediately and Bella watched them leave before following after with dread filling her body. Many of the people who had attended the wedding felt drawn by the fight and rushed to see what would happen next, phones at the ready. They snapped pictures and some even recorded the events that were transpiring. Once everyone had reached the backyard where the men had ended up, they were assaulted by the storm that had not let up for hours. The dreary weather was like a bad omen._

 _The rain continued to attack the earth, much like Edward against Jacob. Bella cried out when Edward struck Jacob in the jaw. She knew she couldn't just stand on the sidelines and allow them to fight as it seemed as though Edward was hellbent on killing Jacob. So, in her saturated and muddied dress, she kicked off her heels and trudged through the soggy earth until she reached them. She tried to pull Edward off of Jacob but it only angered Edward who retaliated with a slap that left an inflamed handprint across her pale skin._

 _The slap struck a chord within Jacob who slammed his fist into Edward's nose. The punch threw off Edward's balance and he walked away a few paces to massage his bloody nose._

 _Bella quickly dropped to her knees to assess the damage done to Jacob. He was still breathing which caused her to breath a sigh of relief. Jacob looked at her fondly and even battered and bruised, she could see the love in his eyes. As she wiped away some blood that was leaking from his nose, she wanted to tell him she loved him. But his eyes changed and she saw the fear flicker through them. Before she could ask what was wrong, her body was suddenly airborne. The startled bride collided with the ground roughly where she rolled a few feet before coming to a stop near a tree. She sat up gingerly and realized she could hear sirens through the storm. Bella didn't get to dwell on the sirens for long when she heard Edward yelling indistinguishable words. Her eyes connected to the large kitchen knife protruding from Jacob's body and she found herself pushing Edward out of her way before tripping over a branch and landing beside Jacob._

" _Bella…" Jacob murmured, eyes trying to focus on her but his pupils were dilating and retracting sporadically._

" _I'm here." She told him while lifting up one his hands gently and placing it on her cheek._

 _Jacob weakly ran his thumb across her slap mark that was beginning to fade. "He didn't...get you...right?" By the end of his sentence, Jacob was breathless as though he had run a marathon._

" _No. You saved me Jacob." Her words came out thickly and her eyes glazed over with tears threatening to spill across her already wet cheeks._

 _Jacob sighed and his lips actually tilted up into a very soft smile. "That's...good." His eyes began to flutter and Bella clutched the hand against her cheek tightly._

" _No! Jacob! Stay with me!" She screamed then slapped his face lightly._

 _Jacob jerked from the slap and opened his eyes lazily. "But Bella...I'm so…tired." He told her, eyes drifting closed once more._

" _Don't you leave me Jacob! I will never forgive you if you leave me!" Bella sobbed, releasing his hand and cupping his face. "Please don't leave me!"_

 _Jacob coughed and Bella was stricken when she found blood dribbling from his mouth. "I'm so...sorry." He whispered, then closed his eyes for a final time. "Forgive...me."Jacob's voice trailed off and Bella screamed up at the sky as tears of agony flooded down her dirty cheeks._

"Mrs. Black?" Jane called out, waving her hand in front of Bella's face.

Bella snapped back to reality and placed the picture face down on her desk. "So what do you want?" Bella asked quietly.

"What?" Jane asked stupidly.

"What do you want?" Bella reiterated. "You bring me these pictures from years ago and there must be a reason behind it. So what?"

Jane seemed taken aback by Bella's bluntness and even faltered with the articles in her hand. "So you aren't going to deny it? These are you in the pictures?"

Bella nodded slowly. "Yes, those are pictures of me."

Jane smirked. "I knew I recognized you. My dad had these in a box in his room. I must've seen them when I was younger and remembered you.

Bella didn't ask what she wanted to ask. Why did her father save articles about her past. Instead, she repeated her earlier question from before. "What do you want?"

"I've never heard anyone talk about this. Which leads me to believe that no one knows about this." Since Jane didn't phrase it as a question, Bella didn't answer. Bella's lack of response made Jane's eyes narrow. "Is it true?"

"Is what true, Jane?" Bella asked lightly, causing the girl to bristle.

"You've kept this a secret?"

Bella shrugged and stacked the pictures together before handing them back to Jane. "It's not really a secret. I just don't like talking about my past." Bella could tell that her cool demeanor was getting to Jane who was trying desperately to assert her dominance.

"Well what would happen if someone were to leak these photos and articles? It's a small town and word travels fast."

"Word does travel fast." Bella admitted then smiled. "But so what?"

Jane scowled at Bella and clutched the envelope closer to her body. "My father said that if people knew about what happened to you, things would change."

"Then things would change." Bella said with a smile. "Now, if you are finished with your questions, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your seat and complete the assignment."

With a look of indignation, Jane turned from Bella and reclaimed her seat.

After Jane had gone, Bella felt her shoulders sag in relief. Her exterior may have remained cool as a cucumber, but inside she was feeling panicked and scared. One of the reasons she had stayed in Forks was because almost no one knew about the scandal she'd had with Edward. She didn't want to be treated any differently. If people learned about what happened, they would learn about the money that was given to her and Jacob as a 'sorry Edward attacked you, please don't sue the company' bride. She'd remembered when they had first had money. People had come out of the woodwork asking them for money. They had even received death threats from a more deranged group of people who felt that she had wronged Edward. But once they had moved and run out of money, life had returned to normal. She really didn't want things to change but Jane's threat still hung in the air.

 **A/N: This is the last one I have in reserve! But I have been working on the next couple of chapters. So hopefully y'all won't have to wait too long for another update. Again, if I disappear for long than a couple months, don't be afraid to shoot me a message like: hey, you wanna update? (Sometimes I put writing on the back burner and forget about it.) Thanks for everyone who fav/alert and review. Warms my heart! ^w^**


	28. Two Pink Lines

Chapter 28  
 _One means nothing and we're home free  
Two means three and a diamond ring  
Yeah, wonder what faith is going to decide  
We're just sitting around waiting on two pink lines_

 _~Two Pink Lines- Eric Church_

A cloud moved it's way in front of the sun, casting shadows over the small town of Forks. The temperature was just warm enough that a jacket was optional. "It hasn't rained in awhile, I think our time in the sun is over." Bella commented as she and Alice entered their apartment after a day of teaching. Tomorrow happened to be Friday and they were going to have an all day meeting in which they would meet the new principal.

Alice stopped by her mailbox and grabbed a few pieces of mail including a couple magazines. "It was nice while it lasted." She passed Bella the letters, then the duo headed to Alice's room. "Rent's coming up soon." Alice groaned as she tossed the mail on top the large mound of magazines on the coffee table.

"It is." Bella commented, then walked over to the window and opened the curtains to let in some light. "Jacob and I won't have to worry about that this month though."

"Why's that?" Alice stretched out on the couch lazily and squinted at the light pouring in from the window.

Bella looked down at the mail in her hands and kept a neutral face. "We're being evicted."

"What?" Alice leapt off the couch and in a few quick strides, was standing by Bella's side. "What do you mean _evicted_? What happened?"

"Caius happened."

Alice's face contorted into one of anger. "What did he do?" She growled much like an angry dog.

"He told the landlord about Midnight." Bella sighed and leaned against the window. "Now Jake and I have to look for a new place." Her face sagged forlornly and she looked at her friend with a doleful expression. "I really liked it here too."

Alice clenched her fist and looked ready to jump Caius. "I'm going to kill him! Why can't he mind his own damn business? He's literally the checklist of the worst tennant. I swear!" Alice glared out the window angrily and scowled. "Speak of the devil!"

Bella followed Alice's gaze and her eyes locked on Caius who was walking up the short walkway to the door. "Don't worry, he'll get his comeuppance."

"I hate him." Alice's gaze drifted from Caius to a small car sitting across the street from their apartment. "Maybe I should get some bugs and let them loose in his apartment." Alice looked at Bella deviously. "Or I can break his windows and report _him_ to the landlord and get him kicked out."

Bella laughed lightly and patted Alice's shoulder. "You're a great friend. But don't worry about it. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Alice snorted then returned to the couch and picked up one of the magazines she had received in the mail. "Well if he happens to be near me anytime soon, I'm going to trip him. Sure it's childish, but it'll make me feel better."

"That's mean, but I don't disapprove." Bella smiled at her friend then walked away from the window and towards the door. "I have to get going, see ya later." It didn't take Bella long to enter her apartment. As usual, Jacob was there with Renesmee and Midnight.

"Mommy!" Renesmee squealed in excitement, then threw herself at Bella. "Guess what I learned today!"

Bella lifted up her daughter and rested her on the side of her hip. "What did you learn today?"

Renesmee flashed her pearly whites and began singing the alphabet in spanish. When she had finished, she grinned and clapped her hands. "Teacher said we can be bi-leenal!"

Bella chuckled and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "You will definitely be bilingual if you keep up the good work!" Bella felt a dull ache in her back, so she placed Renesmee on the floor and stretched. For the past few weeks, she had been feeling strange and a theory was nagging at her. Bella looked down at her stomach that seemed bigger than normal. Almost as though she were… "Hey Renesmee, would you like to go the store with mommy and get some ice cream?"

"Yes!" Renesmee jumped up and down with excitement. "Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!"

While Renesmee jumped up and down with excitement, Bella scanned the apartment for her husband. She found him changing out of his work shirt in their bedroom. "Where are my singles? I didn't know you would be stripping."

Jacob paused in taking off his shirt and glanced at his wife. "If you want a show, I can give you one." He teased while gyrating his hips.

Bella could not help the giggles that escaped her lips. "Don't tempt me." She walked over to where her husband stood and kissed the tip of his nose. "Did I ever tell you about Jane?"

"Is she a student?" Jacob scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "No, I don't think that you have."

Bella sighed and leaned into her husband's bare chest. "She is the worst student. She is giving me hell." Bella could feel Jacobs chest vibrate as he laughed. "She brought me pictures of my wedding with Edward." The vibrates stilled and Jacob froze. "She even had the _nerve_ to threaten to spread the news around the school. I just wanted to leave that drama in the past." Bella felt warm arms wrap around her. "This town is too small for gossip that large. They'll treat us weird. What if people think we still have the settlement money?"

"Take it easy honey." Jacob patted Bella's back soothingly. "You're jumping to conclusions. Jane hasn't even told anyone yet. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, ok?" He kissed her forehead and ran his free hand through her hair. "Are you alright? Need some pickles or coconut cake to help you relax?"

Bella broke free of her husband and huffed. "Don't make fun of me and my diet."

Jacob raised his hands defensively. "It's just weird to see you only eat coconut cake and pickles." Jacob paused and looked his wife up and down. "I do like what it's doing to your body though." He winked as embarrassment colored Bella's face red.

"I'm going to take a shower, then take Renesmee out for ice-cream. Want me to bring you back anything?"

"Some whipped cream would be just _fine_." He chuckled as he resumed buttoning up his shirt.

"Why are you so horny lately?" Bella muttered.

"You must be exuding some pheromones or something." Jacob joked. When Bella turned to leave, Jacob pinched her butt and elicited a mild squeal from his wife.

Bella stepped out of the shower after 20 minutes of cleansing her body. Before she had a chance to wrap her towel around her body, she caught sight of her stomach and the moderate protrusion in her abdomen. She had become so stressed with Edward drama, work and her overall life, that she had not paid much attention to her health. She often found herself to be fatigued, regardless of how much sleep she received. Then the weird cravings of coconut cake and pickles being the basis of her diet would make sense if and only if she were…

"Am I pregnant?" The words that left her lips felt like a declaration as her hand traveled to her stomach and gently patted the area. When she had been pregnant with Renesmee, her stomach felt smooth, soft and full. Currently, it felt the same way. But she wanted to be certain she was pregnant before she entertained such thoughts.

As the steam began to dissipate, Bella wrapped the towel around herself and shuffled into her bedroom. She quickly threw on some sweatpants, a T-shirt and pulled her damp hair into a messy bun. After she felt decently clothed, she walked into the living room where she found her daughter playing with Midnight while the TV blaring cartoons in the background.

Bella glanced around the living room curiously but did not see her husband anywhere in sight. "Where is daddy?" She asked her daughter.

Renesmee pointed to a folded up note sitting on top of the coffee table. "Daddy ran out but left that for you."

"Oh?" Bella opened the folded up piece of paper and read the words quickly.

 _Problem at work. Be back soon!_

 _-Jacob_

"I hope everything is alright." Bella tossed the note into the recycle bin and placed her hands on her hips. Now her plans were to be altered, but she really wanted to know if she was pregnant. Instead of driving to the local pharmacy, she was going to walk to the closest drug mart instead. "Hey Renesmee, are you ready to go with mommy to get some ice-cream?"

Renesmee looked up at her mother with such elation that it brought a smile to Bella's face. "Yes mommy! Can Midnight come with us?"

"I don't see why not!" Bella grabbed the leash hanging by the door and Midnight barked enthusiastically before speeding over to where Bella stood. His tail wagged in excitement while Bella clipped the leash to his collar. "Alright Renesmee, let's go." One hand held Midnight's leash, the other clasped her daughters, and as she exited her apartment, she thought more indepthly about what it would mean to have another child. "Hey Renesmee, I have a question for you."

"What is it mommy?" Renesmee jumped over a crack and began skipping over the sidewalk while keeping pace with Bella.

"How would you feel if you had a baby brother or baby sister?"

"Oh! I would love a brother or sister!" Renesmee jumped up with glee before resuming her skipping. "We could play with Midnight together, and watch movies, and eat lots and lots of candy!" Renesmee smiled brightly at her mother. "Can I have one? I want a little sister the most. We can play dress up!"

Bella laughed quietly and looked up at the green light. "Well honey, you might just be getting a little sister. We shall see."

Once the light turned red, Bella crossed the street and cut through the parking lot that lead up to the drug store. "Mommy I have a question. Where do babies come from?"

Bella felt her face slowly redden from the innocent question. "They come from mommies of course."

"Oh okay!" Renesmee seemed very satisfied by the answer and Bella was very relieved. She did not wish to have the infamous _'talk'_ with her child being so young. She also didn't want to do it alone, but with Jacob by her side. "When are we getting ice-cream? This isn't the ice-cream store."

Bella opened the door and allowed her daughter to walk inside. "We will get some ice-cream right after I buy something from this store. Okay?"

"Uh miss...hey, ma'am!" The cashier flagged down Bella's attention and pointed at Midnight who was sniffing around the floor by Renesmee's feet. "Dog's aren't permitted in the store. He's going to have to wait outside." A scowl preceded the words and caused embarrassment to well up inside of Bella.

"Oh, sorry!" Bella scooped up Midnight and Renesmee followed her out of the store. An old bench rested just outside of the store so Bella decided to tie Midnight's leash to it. "Alright Midnight, you stay put."

Renesmee looked from her mother to Midnight and pouted cutely. "I don't want to leave him alone. He might get sad. Can I wait with him, mommy?"

"What? I don't know, Renesmee." Bella looked from the pup to her child and felt moved by the forlorn expression adorning Renesmee's face. She glanced around the deserted area and released a troubled sigh. "Alright. You are a big girl right?" She took Renesmee's excited nod for affirmance. "Well, then you can stay with Midnight if and only if you sit right here and don't move. Can you do that for me?"

"I can do it mommy!" Renesmee jumped up onto the bench and sat down formally with her legs crossed. "I won't move from this spot." Midnight yipped at her dangling feet and caused her to giggle.

"Alright. I'll be quick." Bella re-entered the store and received a bored look from the cashier. She ignored him as she walked up and down the aisles in search of a pregnancy test. When she finally came to the aisle, she scanned through all the brands picking up different boxes and comparing them. "Hm, six days earlier…" She picked up a bright pink box and read through the instructions on the back.

"Bella is that you?"

Startled by the sudden voice, she dropped the pregnancy test on the ground and fell into the shelves. The sudden action caused a few more pregnancy tests to be knocked over and clatter around her feet.

"Sorry Bella, I didn't mean to startle you."

Bella felt her face flush for the second time that day in embarrassment. "It's alright Demetri. What are you doing here?" She picked up the fallen pregnancy tests but kept the one she wished to purchase.

"I'm just grabbing some beer. What are you doing…" Demetri's eyes locked on the pregnancy test in her hand and a smile tugged at his lips. "Are you expecting? That would explain all the pickles." Demetri gave her a half hug in celebration. "Congrats!"

Bella blushed embarrassedly. "I'm not sure just yet. But I do get the feeling that I am pregnant. Please don't tell anyone though."

"I can keep a secret." Demetri winked before something outside caught his eye and his face sagged into an unreadable expression crossed his face. "I'll see you later." Before Bella could even respond, Demetri set the case of beer on the ground and exited the store. While the encounter had been strange, Bella shrugged it off, purchased her pregnancy test, then left to buy ice cream with Renesmee.

The rest of the evening blurred for Bella as she was very distracted by the possibility of being pregnant. She barely tasted the ice cream and once she reached home, made a bee-line for the bathroom.

"Two pink lines means I'm pregnant." Bella muttered to herself as she waited for the results. "Two lines."

A door slammed and she jumped, dropping the pregnancy stick to the ground. Before she could pick it up she heard screaming and something breaking. Bella rushed out of the bathroom and hurried into the living room where her husband was in a complete rage. He had flipped their coffee table and the vase that usually rested on it was in pieces on the floor. Bella didn't even get a chance to say anything before Jacob was throwing anything he could grab at the wall. Be it books, pillows or even the remote control which shattered horrendously.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" Bella grabbed her husband's hand to stop him from smashing a framed picture of their family. "Hey, you have to calm down. You'll scare Renesmee." Bella thought of their child whom she had put to bed before going to the bathroom.

Jacob wrenched his hand from his wife and ran a hand through his hair. "I was fired today." He growled. "I am jobless."

"What?" Bella was taken aback by his words and covered her mouth in shock.

"I left a while ago because they called me in." Jacob scoffed as he relayed what happened. "It's complete bullshit. They 'claim' I've been stealing from the company." The distraught man sighed heavily as his anger dissipated. "There's a whole investigation going and it all ties back to that time I spent at the other store. I should've never gone."

"It's going to be alright Jacob." Bella finally spoke after a minute of silence. "I'll give Charlie a ring and I'm sure he will be able to help us get this situation settled." Bella took a step towards her husband and stepped on a sharp piece of glass. She let out a pained moan and backed into the wall.

Jacob was by her side instantly and wrapped an arm around her waist to help hoist her up and keep pressure off of her foot. "I'm so sorry honey. Are you ok? There's a lot of glass on the floor right now."

Bella scowled at Jacob and motioned towards the hall. "There's bandaids in the bathroom. Help me get there." As they began walking she pointed at the glass. "And you're going to clean all of that up before Renesmee wakes or so help me you're job won't be the only thing you lose." She narrowed her eyes at the man who looked away sheepishly. When they made it to the bathroom, Jacob kicked the pregnancy test out of the way so Bella could sit on the edge of the tub and clean her bloody foot. The pregnancy test clattered against the toilet with two pink lines etched permanently into the screen.

 **A/N: It was the moment you all had been waiting for~! She was, in fact, pregnant lol. A lot of you were like, how come she didn't realize it. Well, if you think about it, every time the thought tried to cross her mind, something crazy happened that distracted her. Whether it was Edward, Jane or even sex. But hey, now she knows :)**

 **Sorry my updates are so...sporadic. I have two jobs and I'm student-teaching. But writing is a stress reliever so I'm going to try to update more. Next update will be in the next 2-4 weeks most likely.**

 **To the person who commented about Huilen, I actually forgot their gender and picked it on the spot o_o;;**

 **To the other person who told me to update, here ya go :3**


	29. Burning Down The House

Chapter 29

 _My house! Is out of the ordinary_

 _That's right! Don't wanna hurt nobody_

 _Some things sure can sweep me off my feet_

 _Burning down the house_

 _Burning Down The House- Talking Heads_

Bella tossed and turned for a couple hours before waking up from a horrid dream involving her ex, Edward. In the dream Edward was trying to kill her. The dream had felt so realistic that by the time she woke, her heart was racing and she was drenched in sweat. Flashes of their wedding reception years ago began to infiltrate her mind, and she shook the terrible memories away.

Glancing over at her husband sleeping soundly beside her, Bella felt her heart swell with emotion. She loved this man dearly and never wished to part. But she was also very upset with him for losing his temper last night. Her cut foot barely bothered her but she was worried about his anger. What if he became like Edward? She knew her body and mental health could not take another abusive relationship.

But the longer Bella watched the rise and fall of Jacob's slumbering body, the more her gut told her that he was nothing like her ex. Jacob was one of the kindest souls she had ever met. His temper the night before was most likely a build-up of stress from of all of the situations they had found themselves in recently. Her car was permanently stolen and she had no hopes of obtaining it, they were being evicted from their home and Jacob had just lost his job. Too many issues to deal with would cause any normal, sane person to lose their grip and throw a tantrum. That's what she decided to deem Jacob's outburst. A 'tantrum'.

The pale woman turned away from her husband and stared at the alarm clock on the nightstand for a moment. 2:04am glared back at her with vibrant red letters. Normally Bella slept through the night with zero issues. But tonight did not seem to be that kind of night. It also didn't help that she felt as though she were overheating. She watched the clock change to 2:07am before she finally made the decision to cool herself down with some water. But first, nature called and she waddled into the bathroom in just an oversized T-shirt and underwear.

Bella didn't bother turning on the light as the bathroom was dimly lit by the streetlight outside. She tiredly plopped herself onto the toilet and began to answer natures call. As she was relieving herself she noticed the pregnancy test sitting beside her, patiently waiting to be read. She paused in her ministrations and grabbed the device, bringing it up a mere inch from her eyes. Two lines were etched into the device which promptly fell from her hands and clattered onto the floor. Images of another baby being born into their family popped into her brain and she felt a torrent of emotions. Surprise being the dominant emotion as she never anticipated having a second child. Adoration for the unborn baby already began to consume her. Along with feeling relief at finally understanding why her mood and eating habits were all out of whack.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Bella felt sweat dripping down her face and saturating her body. A cold glass of water was in her future as she wandered into the kitchen. She paused upon opening her fridge as the blaring light blinded her for a few seconds. The cool air emitting from the fridge felt amazing against her skin. Bella grabbed a water bottle and the jar of pickles and chugged the water quickly before popping a pickle into her mouth. She didn't care how Jacob teased her now, she was pregnant so she could eat any weird assortment of foods that she wanted.

One water bottle just didn't seem enough to cool her down so she grabbed another and sipped it slowly. While drinking the water she picked up on an unusual odor in the air. She glanced at her stove and a frown etched itself onto her face. "Did I leave something in the oven?" She murmured aloud to herself while opening the oven. She found the machine to be completely cold and devoid of any food inside to cause such an odor. Bella began to sniff the air and the strange smell led her to the front door. A weird feeling began to twist in her gut as she sensed something was very wrong. Bella reached out to open the front door to their apartment and retracted her hand like a cobra. The metal knob was so hot it had scorched her skin.

Bella turned from the door and rushed back into the kitchen to apply cold water to her burning hand. She knew immediately what was happening and didn't need the door to open to understand. Their apartment complex was on fire.

After a few seconds of cooling off her hand and gathering her thoughts, she raced to her bedroom to inform her husband of the terrifying news. The dire situation had her wasting no time in rousing him from sleep gently. She hopped onto the bed and began shaking him with all her might. "Jacob! Jacob wake up!"

Jacob's eyes snapped open immediately and he looked at his wife with mild concern lacing his face. "Are you still mad at me?" He asked while a yawn escaped halfway.

"The apartment is on fire! We have to get out of here!" Bella tugged at her husband with such a sense of urgency that Jacob didn't second guess her with questions that would waste their time. "Let's go!" Bella sprinted out of the room and opened her daughter's door before she realized her husband was heading towards the fire. "Where are you going? We have to get out of here using the fire escape ladder."

Jacob pointed at their daughter and made a grim face. "Take Renesmee and get to safety. I'm sure Caius is unaware and we can't just leave him here to burn."

Bella looked towards her daughter then back at her husband with indecision about the predicament. In just a few quick strides she was standing in front of Jacob with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "That douchebag better not get you killed." She choked out. "I love you." The brunette stood on her tippy toe to give her husband a passionate kiss.

Before they broke apart, Jacob slid Bella the keys to the car. "I love you too." He murmured against her lips before pecking them one last time. A discarded shirt was lying on the ground and he scooped it up quickly. At first Bella thought he was going to use it to cover his nearly naked body as he was only in his boxers. But Bella watched him saturate it with water then cover his mouth to hopefully help provide some sort of barrier between the smoke and his lungs. Jacob did manage to grab an oven mitt for opening the door before sliding into his shoes. Bella stood by for three seconds after his departure then kicked into high gear and made her way into her slumbering daughter's room.

"Renesmee, honey wake up." Bella gently, but urgently patted her daughter until the child was blinking up at her sleepily.

"I'm tired momma." Renesmee yawned and prepared to fall back asleep.

"I know you're tired." Bella sat her daughter up so she couldn't lay back down. "But we have to go right now."

Renesmee sighed and stood up once prompted. "But I'm sleepy." She complained and leaned into Bella's leg.

Bella ignored her and leaned over Renesmee's bed in order to open the window. "I tell you what, I'll give you a piggy-back ride. But you have to hold on to me very tightly. Can you do that?"

Renesmee's eyes lit up with excitement, rousing her from her sleepy state. "I love piggy-back rides! I'll hang on! I promise." Renesmee jumped up and down in her bright yellow pajamas and Bella had to calm her in order to get her situated on her back.

Once Renesmee had climbed onto her mother's back, Bella headed for the window and climbed onto the fire escape with little issue. A soft bark had her pausing as Midnight came up to the window sill and looked at the pair with his cocked to the side and tail wagging enthusiastically. "Sorry little guy, almost forgot about you." Bella reached inside and plucked Midnight from the floor. It didn't take the woman long to descend the stairs of the fire escape. But once she reached the ladder, she realized she couldn't hold Midnight and climb down simultaneously. Bella looked at the grass and realized they were about fifteen feet off the ground. Would Midnight survive a fall from that height? Bella closed her eyes and said a small prayer before leaning over the ladder and dropping Midnight to the ground.

The small dog yelped from the sudden fall and landed on his four paws upon hitting the ground. He trotted away from the house and barked at Bella from below before sitting on down expectantly.

"Oh thank goodness." Bella sent a small smile down to the dog then descended the ladder with her daughter latching onto her extra tightly. "Don't worry Renesmee, we're almost to the ground." She spoke the words aloud to her daughter but really she was trying to convince herself that they would be ok. When she reached the last step on the ladder, she looked down at the ground still a good six feet below her. "Hold on tight honey." Bella closed her own eyes as she released her hands from the ladder and plummeted to the ground below. She knew that screaming would only freak out her child and she did not wish to scare her so she kept her fears silent. Thankfully she had braced herself perfectly and landed on the balls of her feet. As her toes dug into the cool grass, she opened her eyes and looked up at the building that was emitting such a strong heat. Even from the back of the building she could tell it was on fire. She didn't wish to stay in the vicinity so she called to Midnight then hurried to where she knew the car was parked across the street. As she sprinted around the burning apartment, she passed by her friend's apartment and gasped. "Alice!" She looked up at the building and saw the flames had burst through the hall windows and were licking at the building hungrily. From what she could see through Alice's bedroom window, smoke had infiltrated the room completely and made it impossible to see anything.

"Momma what's that smell?" Renesmee asked, still latched firmly to Bella's back.

Bella didn't know how to respond. She didn't want to frighten her daughter with the reality of the situation. But at the same time, her daughter had eyes and would be able to visibly see what was going on if she merely looked. She decided to just not answer the question and in the blink of an eye, she was laying Renesmee down in the back seat of her car with Midnight curling up next to her.

"May I go back to sleep mommy?" Renesmee asked cutely.

"Of course baby." Bella kissed her daughter's forehead and before she had even closed the door her daughter was fast asleep. With Renesmee out of harm's way, Bella turned her attention back to the building that looked like it was straight from hell with it's horrendous flames. Off in the distance, Bella could hear the faraway sounds of a fire truck. She was happy that someone had called 911, but as she ran up to Alice's window, she wished the fire truck would arrive sooner as her husband and friend were likely still trapped inside.

Bella banged on the window hoping to alert Alice to her presence. When she didn't receive a response, she banged on it harder until her firsts hurt and managed to crack the glass. No response was had and she knew time was of the essence. Looking around on the ground beside her, she found a large rock and picked it up quickly. Without taking a moment to think about what she was doing she threw the rock with all of her might, against the window, shattering it into a million pieces. Groaning could be heard from inside of the apartment and then Alice's face appeared. "What the hell-

"Alice get out of there, the building is on fire!" Bella coughed as the smoke hit her from Alice's room then motioned to her friend to jump out of the window.

"Bella, what are you talking about?" Alice gestured sleepily to the building around her. "It's not on f-" the smoke hit Alice like a ton of bricks and had her gasping for a clean breath of air only to be obtained from outside. "Shit this is not turning out to be a good night." Alice swung her body out of the window like a professional gymnast and landed on her feet in a perfect stance. "What the fuck is going on?" She asked once the pair had evacuated the immediate area and reached Bella's car.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Bella told her honestly. "I woke up overheating and then discovered this." Both turned their eyes to the building looking like it was ready to cave in on itself. "Jacob decided to try and save Caius. Is it completely selfish that I wish he hadn't?" When Alice embraced Bella, she allowed the tears she was holding back to overflow from her eyes. "Alice if I lose him, I don't know what I will do!"

"Shh." Alice rocked Bella from side to side. "You aren't going to lose him. Jacob is going to come out of that building any minute now with that idiot Caius behind him." The pair watched the building burn and heard the fire truck finally arrive and begin to put out the fire. "Any minute now." Alice repeated after the firemen had assessed the situation and began putting out the fire. "Any minute now." She murmured one final time ten minutes later after the fire was under control and some of the firemen were storming the building looking for survivors.

One of the firemen came out of the building and removed his headgear. "Two confirmed dead! Bring in the EMS!"

 **A/N: Next update 3-5 weeks. I have to create a unit plan for a class, and get started on a project so the next update will take a bit. But I shall try not to leave y'all hanging for months on end anymore :) If I fall of the face of the earth for two or months, just PM me and tell me to chop-chop and produce another chapter lol.**


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